Sabrina Ionescu is now in her seventh WNBA season, and similar to her NCAA and high school careers, she’s been racking up accomplishment after accomplishment. Four-time All-Star. Two-time Three-Point Shootout Champion. She even helped lead the New York Liberty to a WNBA championship, bringing a basketball title to New York even before the Knicks. Equally impressive is her sneaker record, going three-for-three with hits on her first three signature models. And now, she’s ready to release the Nike Sabrina 4.
The Nike Sabrina line has been popular from the start, and has been widely worn by players in not only the WNBA, but NBA, as well as all levels of play. The line has been a compelling option for fans of the low-top ethos popularized by Kobe Bryant’s signature line, but at a more affordable price point—an important element for Ionescu. “I think it's finding the right balance between price point and technology in the shoe, and how we can try and make it affordable for everyone,” she explained of her line’s accessibility.
This time around is no different. The Nike Sabrina 4 rings up at the same $135 price as the previous model, and utilizes returning features like a low-cut collar and cushioning via forefoot Zoom Air combined with Cushlon 3.0. This time though it adds some new tech like a TPU Flyplate inspired by running sneakers for better energy return.
The Nike Sabrina 4 releases on July 17, 2026, in the launch “Limelight Glow” colorway (II0402-300). Ahead of the launch, Complex caught up with Ionescu to talk about the evolution of her signature line, her Oregon roots, and how fans’ designs have inspired her own exclusive colorways.
The following interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Complex: You have three hits already. Everybody's worn them, everybody likes them, everybody plays in them. So coming off of that, what did you want to see for your next shoe knowing that you already had so much success with the first three?
Sabrina Ionescu: Yeah, I mean, it's consistency. It's wanting to continue to evolve and be better every single time I get that opportunity. So, obviously with the 4, that mindset stays the same—keeping it what makes the Sabrina shoe relevant in the 4, but also continue to just add new innovation and be better and find ways to improve. And so yeah, obviously really happy with the first three, but super excited about the fourth.
And was there anything specifically that you asked for from a technology standpoint or playability standpoint that you wanted to add or change?
Yeah, I mean obviously I'd say the Flyplate is something in my basketball shoe that's going to be new. The Cushlon 3.0 is something that we've had and that's something that a lot of people will continue to feel underfoot, that support and comfort. But the Flyplate also is something they haven’t felt before that they will feel. And that's something I'm super excited about, just that feeling of being on your toes, springy, propelling yourself forward while also continuing to improve the traction.
The Flyplate has roots in running. Was there a specific running shoe that you liked that you wanted to pull that from? What led to that being added?
I think it's more just the idea of innovation, and obviously Oregon is the birthplace of that. And so continuing to just find what's worked, and understanding—especially as a basketball player—you’re always on your toes, you're always propelling yourself forward, changing direction laterally, jumping, cutting. And so I think when that idea came about, the understanding was like, why not? I think understanding how we can add it, we can continue to improve the technology in the shoe, while also adding a new feature to continue to help players all around the world and their performance.
We've seen that so many people across multiple leagues are wearing your shoes. Is there anybody that you've been particularly surprised by in the WNBA or NBA, or anywhere else, to see wearing them?
I don't think surprised, but I think honored for sure. I'd say just from college players to the NBA, obviously my teammates are all in them. So that's something that is super fun—just when I get into the locker room and there's my boxes on their chairs. A lot of the European teammates I have are always asking, how cool is it to have your own shoe? And so I think I never lose that excitement, especially when I can see it from someone else's eyes. And so that's just always been the honor that I feel to know that I have a signature shoe and obviously providing that for the next generation as well.
When you meet fans, is that a popular topic that comes up? I'm sure the team is also, but when fans see you is the shoe a topic that comes up frequently?
Yeah, like every time. [laughs] I think every single time it's either like, "I have your shoes. Your shoes are the best. Your shoes are the most comfortable. I have crazy colorways." There's always something that is mentioned about my shoes. And so all I can really say is “thank you,” because I'm obviously honored, but I put obviously a lot of hard work in trying to make sure that we can come out with the best basketball shoe every year.
Speaking of cool colorways, you've had some really cool PEs over the years. Is that stuff you specifically ask for? Are you involved with those?
Yeah, definitely involved in just understanding how you can tell so many stories through colorways. And so for me, it's just finding different stories, different ways. If there's a colorway I like, flipping the colors and how that can look. And also just drawing inspiration from other people's Nike By Yous. I get tagged in so much stuff. I see so many different Nike By Yous all around the world. And I think sometimes that's really cool, and I can draw inspiration from that to create a cool PE.
So you actually see Nike By Yous that other people have made and it inspires the pairs that you want for yourself?
For sure. I mean, not every single one, because there's some that I just like that I want to create, but there's definitely a lot of times where there'll be a kid or there'll be somebody that is showing me their shoes and I'm like, "Wow, I hadn't thought about changing that or adding that color and it looked really cool." So I definitely incorporate that.
Do you ever tell the people, do they ever know that your shoes were inspired by them?
I don't know if I would ever see them again, some of the fans. But definitely some of my family that does them. I hear their input, they tell me a lot. So I'm like, okay, maybe I'll add that in a colorway because they like it or I saw it on them and I really liked it.
Oregon is clearly a big part of your history. When my coworkers saw the 4 for the first time, everybody really liked it. And one of my coworkers goes, "I swear that the toe section, that really reminds me of a duck. Was there duck inspiration in the toe of the 4, or is that just the coincidence that we think it looks like that?
That's kind of a coincidence, but I can see it now that you said that. So we can roll with it. I like that.
I think about it every time I see it now. I don't think I would've come up with it either, but I saw it and I was like, oh, that makes sense.
Yeah. Now that you're saying it, I can definitely see. I can see it. So I like that. Maybe I'll just say that is what that's for.
And then another Oregon question, the Grateful Dead [Sabrina 3]. That was something everybody went crazy about. They even did a baseball version of it. Were you involved with that? How did that come about?
Yeah, obviously that's super kind of like a legacy thing at Oregon. So it was really cool to see obviously the men's and women's basketball teams, but then how we were able to have cleats and stuff for baseball and continue to obviously understand at that level and what it means for the community in Eugene and Oregon. But for me, it was exciting. It was kind of like a crazy colorway that everyone really liked. So I really was able to put that in a shoe and obviously a clothing line as well Nike was able to have.
Last thing is that your shoes are on the affordable end of the spectrum when it comes to performance basketball. Is that a conscious decision by you and important for what you want to put out there?
Absolutely. That's something that I feel like is so important is just being able to be accessible and create access. And so for me, I think it's finding the right balance between price point and technology in the shoe, and how we can try and make it affordable for everyone to go out there and buy a really, really great basketball shoe at a great price point that is affordable.
