‘Stics and their kicks: What sneakers each Washington Mystic wears on game nights

‘Stics and their kicks: What sneakers each Washington Mystic wears on game nights originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

For some, sneakers are a huge part of a hooper's identity. What shoes one wears and why is a huge way for a basketball player to show support to a friend or a player who they look up to. It's become its own subset of basketball culture and moved the sport into more mainstream avenues of everyday life.

Of course, being professional athletes, the comfort and functionality of a shoe are also a huge factor in what a player would sport on a game day. Up and down the Mystics roster, each player had different reasons for why they wear the shoes that they do.

Both Elena Delle Donne and Natasha Cloud are sponsored by Nike and Converse, respectively. Delle Donne has her own signature shoe, becoming one of the few female hoopers to ever do so, with the Nike Air Deldons. Cloud has a 'Player's Edition' version of the Converse All-Star Pro BB Evo Low.

Among the Mystics, the Air Deldons are the most popular. At the beginning of the season, there was a team order put in so every member of the organization could get one. Another popular shoe on the team is the Nike Air Zoom G.T. Cut 2 - primarily for the smaller, quicker defenders.

Primarily, though, the Mystics love their Nike shoes with Cloud's Converses being the only anomaly.

Friday night is the franchise's second-annual 'Stics and Kicks Sneakerhead Night. All fans in attendance will receive their own Rebel Edition shoelaces.

Elena Delle Donne – Nike Air Deldon

Delle Donne's signature shoe, the Nike Air Deldon, was released to the public in late 2022. She has six different colorway designs giving her different options to style and wear for notable games. Her goal when crafting the signature shoe was to make a shoe for everybody and has become real popular amongst her teammates.

"I wanted it to be the most universal shoe for everybody. I wanted it to be for people of all abilities, all ages, all genders, all races, whatever you are, I wanted you to put this shoe on and feel like it was made for you," Delle Donne told NBC Sports Washington in June. "So that was my biggest goal. It was a shoe for all. I never loved, especially growing up, too, that there's men's and women's shoes, why not just shoes for everyone? So that was a big key for me and obviously, the accessibility part where my sister never had great shoes growing up."

These shoes are unique and a part of the FlyEase family with a collapsible heel. There's also a velcro strap and other personalized features for Delle Donne.

Having a signature shoe is not something she has not taken lightly. In her view, it's one of her biggest accomplishments that she's given to the basketball community.

Natasha Cloud - Converse All-Star Pro BB Evo Low

Cloud became the WNBA's first Converse athlete in 2020 and the pair have displayed a great relationship through the years. Back in 2020, Converse actually paid Cloud her WNBA salary in full after she opted out of playing in the coronavirus-forced 'wubble' season. She then launched her own version of the Converse All-Star Pro BB Evo Low, called Pedal to the Metal in 2021.

The All-Star Pro BB is her favorite shoe. She has a bunch of different versions of it in a variety of colors. For gameday, she tries to match her shoes with the jersey color they're wearing. This is a task that may seem simple but the inventory of Converse shoes that the Mystics have in the equipment room is massive according to the players.

Cloud says that she has her own little section of that room with printed-out photos of each shoe to make it easier for her to pick. She gave a flower version to Abby Meyers back when she was with the team on a hardship contract.

"So I wear my Pro BBs. I love you converse. These are my favorite shoes. Try to get me out of them. I love them, I can't get my babies out," Cloud said. "Converse really stacks me with a lot of shoes that I have options."

Tianna Hawkins - Nike Air Deldon

Hawkins is one of Delle Donne's teammates who sing the praises of the Air Deldon. She's been wearing the shoes since they dropped last season. And for Hawkins, they offer her something that is rare to find in the sneaker business.

"They're comfortable, they're very comfortable, they're probably the first shoe I've had from Nike that I did not have to break in. I can wear them one time and my feet don't hurt," Hawkins said.

"Anybody gives me a shoe, I'm going to take the [Air Deldon]s, because my feet, they finicky, so this works so I'm going to stick with what's working."

Brittney Sykes - Nike Air Zoom G.T. Cut 2

Some players like Brittney Sykes need shoes specifically made for their functionality. The Air Deldons, for example, go up a little bit higher on the ankle as opposed to other shoes. Sykes's preference is with the Kobes, but his passing a few years ago it has made it difficult to buy a pair with the high demand they generate.

Her alternative is the Nike Air Zoom G.T.s.

“I was a really big fan of the G.T. Cut 1s in the offseason," Sykes said. "I'll admit I love Kobes. I haven't been able to get my hands on some pairs yet. I'm not in a rush because I do like the GTs but I'm more of a low-cut girl being that I'm just so, like agile on the court. I feel like with beautiful- thank you to all my trainers out there- ankle mobility, I'm able to get some angles a little better and a low cut rather than a mid or high.

"So that's usually my reasoning behind it and comfort. Comfort and not too hard in the top. I usually like a mesh up top that way I can kind of move my feet a little bit better and that's why I use the GTs because they're really comfortable and the part with my insole is amazing.”

Myisha Hines-Allen - Nike Zoom Freak 4

This season Hines-Allen has experimented with different shoes. According to Kix Stats, she's worn three different types before settling on the Nike Zoom Freaks in late June. Coming back from knee surgery in the offseason, Hines-Allen has battled through adversity at the start of the year. So finding the right fit is crucial for her to maximize her comeback.

But generally, she's another hooper that isn't too picky about the sneakers she wears.

"I started off with wearing Elena's shoe," Hines-Allen said in early July. "Then - I need some height so my orthotics didn't fit in that shoe - so then I had to switch to another guy. I don't even know what I'm wearing right now. But my orthotics fit in that because I need some height. So orthotics giving a little boost, so I just wear those now, but I'm not one that has to like wear the same shoes every single time. It's just whatever is comfortable or whatever I grabbed."

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough - Nike Air Deldon

Walker-Kimbrough is also on the Air Deldon train as she's worn them every game this season. Her reasoning as to why she wears them is pretty simple.

"Because my teammate was the first to have her own, not a [Player's Edition], nothing against people with the PEs, her own Nike shoe. What better way to support, represent by wearing it out with her standing right next to me."

However, that was not without some skepticism based on the design. Not typically a high-top shoe wearer, Walker-Kimbrough eventually grew into them.

"Honestly, I'm not going to lie when I first saw them I thought, 'wow those look heavy as hell' and I got to wear them because she's my teammate. But when I put them on, how light they are. I don't really like high tops, I'm more of a mid-to-low but these are the first high tops that I wore that they make me feel like I'm in low tops because of the weight. So shout out to you, Delle for that."

Li Meng - Nike LeBron XX

Li Meng has worn the Nike LeBron XXs ever since coming to the Mystics. Speaking through her translator, she said "This one is good. It's comfortable."

But for Meng, what stands out the most about her sneakers is the inspirational message she likes to write on the outside heel of her shoes. This season she has written "Keep going" and "Hello world" with the Mystics. Its a tradition, though that goes back to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The first time I started writing quotes on my shoes are during COVID lockdowns and that was our first game as part of the Chinese national team to play to qualify for the Olympics," Meng said through her translator. "That's when I first started putting it on because originally, the first outbreak was in Wuhan, we all wrote down like 'Come on Wuhan' or quotes to lift the city up on our shoes So that started to become a habit and now I will write quotes on my shoes like 'keep going' and also mentioning my family on my shoes."

These shoes might not be her shoes of choice for very much longer. Meng hinted at perhaps her own shoe coming out down the line.

"I might have a surprise shoe or something coming up but I can't tell right now," Meng's translator said.

Eric Thibault - Nike Air Max

Ever since the dressed-down 'wubble' season in 2020, even the coaches have been able to display their shoe game a little more frequently on the sidelines. Eric Thibault won't call himself a sneakerhead, but he says many on staff disagree with him.

Asking him what his favorite shoe is, however, will get a lot of different responses. He says his go-to gameday shoe is the original Nike Air Maxes. There is a little bit of superstition that goes into his selection too.

"Well, the LeBrons I got on right now are my favorites. I've gone to the low tops. Since Kobe went to the low tops in whatever year that was, I switched to those and they kind of saved my ankle. So big fan of the Kobes and now these LeBrons have been nice. However, I have a lot of Air Maxes, I think that's probably my game shoe of choice," Thibault said. "What goes into it? What have I not worn in a while? I'm aware of we've lost a couple games in the same shoes. Like I had a pair on the other day that was on the ropes. If we had lost that game those shoes are out of the rotation."

On Friday he says he might break out his favorite pair for the 'Stics and Kicks game. There's a Liverpool (European soccer) LeBron shoe that he owns. It may soon see an appearance.

Ariel Atkins - Nike LeBron XX

While some ballers are picky with what style goes on their feet, that's not the case for Ariel Atkins. Her lone priority is comfort. The LeBrons are the shoe she's currently wearing but has worn different types all throughout her career.

“Honestly I just put the most comfortable shoe on I could find at the time and it takes me a while to break my shoes in," Atkins said. "So right now those are LeBrons. All offseason I trained in [Elena's] shoes and the [Air Deldon] shoes so it really just depends on comfort level and what shoes my orthotics can fit in.”

Cyesha Goree - Giannis Immortality

Coming to the District for her first game with the Mystics, Goree broke out Giannis's shoes. Like Sykes, her preference is for the Kobes but until she snags a pair, she's sticking with Giannis's shoe.

"I used to wear Kobes a lot. But obviously, since his passing, it's been harder to obtain the shoe," Goree said. "So for me, I reverted to Giannis because, for me, I really liked his game and even though I'm not as tall and as strong as him you know the Greek Freak is amazing, so I go with the Giannis."

Shakira Austin - Nike Air Deldon/ Nike Ja 1/ Nike Air Zoom G.T. Cut 2/ Nike LeBron XX

Queen Egbo - Nike Air Zoom G.T. Cut 2

Linnae Harper - Nike KD 13

Kristi Toliver - Nike Kobe 6