Elena Delle Donne drops signature Nike shoe inspired by Lyme disease battle
Elena Delle Donne just dropped a very special signature shoe.
The Washington Mystics star announced the release of the Nike Air Deldon ‘Lyme’ shoes on Thursday morning. The shoes, complete with lime-green accents and various shades of green throughout, were inspired by her battle with Lyme disease.
Meet the Nike Air Deldon ‘Lyme.’ ????
— Elena Delle Donne (@De11eDonne) October 6, 2022
Inspired by my battle with Lyme disease, this shoe
represents the fight I bring both on and off the court.
Through sharing my story, I hope to show other
athletes what’s possible.
Shop Nike Air Deldon https://t.co/v8kM8chUUrpic.twitter.com/ghQkvgocjU
“Inspired by my battle with Lyme disease, this shoe represents the fight I bring both on and off the court,” she wrote on twitter. “Through sharing my story, I hope to show other athletes what’s possible.”
Delle Donne averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 rebounds last season for the Mystics, her first full one back since 2019 after dealing with numerous back injuries. The two-time league MVP helped lead the franchise to a title in 2019, too.
Delle Donne has been very open about her battle with Lyme Disease in recent years. She said in an emotional article for The Players’ Tribune in 2020 that she takes 64 pills a day to battle her “chronic Lyme,” something she’s dealt with for more than a decade.
“It’s a never-ending, exhausting, miserable cycle,” she wrote.
Delle Donne’s signature shoe is a rare feat for a WNBA star. It marks just the 11th overall signature shoe from a WNBA player in league history, though the second released in as many years. Breanna Stewart became the first player in the league to get her own signature shoe in the past decade last year after she left Nike for Puma. She was the first since Candace Parker released one with Adidas in 2010.