The Sabrina 1 is the Sneaker You Didn't Know You Needed

Fort Lauderdale- Remember when you were a kid waking up on Christmas morning, running to the tree and picking up your gifts? Remember the thrill of opening a gift to discover what could possibly be inside? Ah, the good ol' days that now are nothing but a memory...

Until last Thursday, when a package from our friends at Nike showed up at my front door.

Upon eagerly opening the package, I was ecstatic to find that (just like Christmas morning) it wasn't socks, but a brand new pair of the Sabrina 1s; Sabrina Ionescu's first signature shoe set to release September 1st and absolutely loaded with history and storytelling. So gather 'round children, and let me walk you through the wonderful story of the Sabrina 1s.

First and foremost, why is this shoe so historic? Sabrina is Nike's first female signature athlete, and this is the first female player's signature sneaker. Now it doesn't stop there; as according to Nike, this is their first fully unisex shoe. Designer Ben Nethongkome shared the details with us noting that product testing took place with "both male and female athletes, as they each provide different insights into what they look for in performance". A shoe (quite literally) anyone could wear. A statement that sounds quite familiar, as this was the vision of Sabrina's mentor, the late, great Kobe Bryant as he approached his signature sneaker line with similar intentions.

But the tales doesn't end there, as the shoe itself is riddled with easter eggs that tell Sabrina's life story. Here are some of my personal favorites (and we encourage you to find the rest when you cop the shoe yourself).

The front of the shoe displays a stitched pattern that serves a double purpose: besides providing exceptional support when cutting to the rim, it also displays a traditional Romanian weave; highlighting Sabrina's Romanian roots. A fun fact Ben shared with us involved this weave, and how they had Sabrina test Nike's normal weave and this traditional weave blindly. Sabrina selected the traditional Romanian weave as the "better performing one" without knowing where the new pattern came from.

The inside heel of the shoe features an upwards Swoosh; Nike's logo that has always been horizontal. The new positioning represents Sabrina's effort to "burst through the glass roof" as she breaks through barriers her entire career.

One of the most heartfelt details in the shoe is the words "anyone anywhere" featured very discretely on the inside arch. Sabrina herself shared how this came from her own father's encouragement, as he taught her that "dreamers can come from anywhere".

A message I share at a very personal level.

So, if the history and story behind the shoe hasn't convinced you yet, perhaps the Zoom Air unit in the forefoot, the full-length Nike React sole, the lightweight support, and some really cool colorways will sell you on them. At the end of the day we all arrive at the same conclusion: this is the hoop shoe you didn't know you NEEDED.