Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever play an elimination game in Las Vegas on Thursday night. Her first signature shoe, the Nike Caitlin 1, went on sale worldwide earlier in the day at $140 a pair.
Clark’s CC logo appears on the tongue, while the upper’s nodes resemble Cs on the outside and 2s on the inside, referencing her No. 22.
Nike Caitlin 1 Colorways and Apparel
“Caitlin Blue,” royal blue with pink soles, and “Warning Code,” bright yellow with blue trim, launch first. Nike recently announced more colorways would arrive in the coming months.
The collection also has 18 apparel pieces, from jackets and hoodies to T-shirts. Nike said its Standard Issue Stretch pieces mark the first time the Standard Issue line has been made for women hoopers.
Clark set the bar at the top of the category, saying in Nike’s release that the goal was to make the best shoe there has ever been.
“A lot of thought and time has gone into this shoe,” Clark said. “I never thought I would have my own signature shoe, and now that I do, it’s pretty special. I can’t wait to share this moment with so many people.”
Three Requests From Clark
Clark brought three goals to her first meetings with Nike’s basketball designers, according to Nike. She wanted a quicker first step, more separation on her step-back, and a faster shot release.
“Everything in the shoe ladders back to helping her achieve those goals,” said Alex Zerzan, an expert product line manager for Nike Basketball. “I don’t know that I’ve worked with an athlete who has been this involved in their product. Her fingerprints are all over this shoe.”
The wait is over.
The Caitlin 1
Available at 10am ET 🇺🇸
‘Caitlin Blue’: https://t.co/5PS0ryAaNc
‘Warning Code’: https://t.co/a4XCKpUyb6 pic.twitter.com/nCgrmAaOIv
— Nike.com (@nikestore) October 1, 2026
Indiana drafted Clark first overall in 2024. A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu are the other WNBA players with signature shoes at Nike.
Opticast Upper and Air Zoom Turbo Cushioning
Opticast, the upper material, is new for Nike. It is made of cast polyurethane nodes at several heights, and Nike’s stated reasons for it are less drag and better lateral quickness. Toward the forefoot, the nodes get taller until they form a raised wave, which Nike said gives support on step-backs and lateral cuts.
Ben Nethongkome, Nike Basketball footwear design director, said the shoe focuses on Clark’s separation moves, not straight-line speed. Its nodes were inspired by Breaking4, Nike’s project using small surface nodes to help runners move through the air.
“We were inspired by the way Nike approached speed in Breaking4,” Nethongkome said. “We started wondering how we could reinterpret that idea for Caitlin and for basketball.”
Before her signature line, Clark played for years in Kobe models and asked Nike’s product team to retain their responsiveness. The Caitlin 1 combines forefoot Air Zoom Turbo with a full-length Cushlon foam midsole.
“When Caitlin talked about wanting to shoot quicker and move quicker,” Zerzan said, “responsiveness became incredibly important.”
Double Swoosh Took More Than 300 Versions
One semi-translucent Swoosh layers over a second Swoosh on the upper, forming two C shapes. Nike tied the design to the doubles in Clark’s identity: her CC initials and her No. 22.
“We went through more than 300 versions,” Zerzan said. “Once Caitlin saw the final version, she immediately knew it was the one.”
The outsole reads “Shoot More Threes.” The sock liner and apparel prints feature a cement pattern inspired by the driveway court where Clark grew up shooting in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Nike also makes the shoe in a full run of youth sizes, adjusted from the adult version for flexibility and range of motion.
“I hope every boy and girl put this shoe on and hope that they can have a signature one day, or that they can go on the court and make 35-foot threes,” Clark said. “I hope this gives them that sense of belief and that sense of confidence to achieve whatever they want to.”
Fever and Aces Meet in Game 3
The third-seeded Aces beat Indiana 102-85 at home in Game 1 on Sept. 27. Two nights later at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the sixth-seeded Fever won 99-89 to force a deciding game.
Clark had 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 15 assists in Game 2. She shot 9-of-18 from the field and 5-of-11 from 3-point range before fouling out. She wore a purple colorway of the Caitlin 1 in that game.
Game 3 tips off at 9 p.m. ET Thursday in Las Vegas. The winner advances to the semifinals against the winner of the Dallas Wings-Golden State Valkyries series, which is tied 1-1.
