Napheesa Collier is wistfully describing her dream basketball sneaker. “I really like a squishy midsole and insole,” she says. “I also like to be a little bit higher off the court.” The perfect shoe didn’t exist, until Jordan Brand granted her wish. Poof! The Heir Series 2 appeared.  

But the shoe wasn’t born of magic or luck. In order to create the Jordan Heir Series 2, Jordan Brand gathered feedback from several athletes, including Collier, ensuring that it was engineered for peak on-court performance. 

“We’re not women’s athletes; we’re athletes,” Collier says. “The women’s game is exploding, and we have the best athletes in the world. We should have a shoe that fits our feet.”

This is a dream shoe for Collier, a 29-year-old power forward who knows what the future of women’s basketball should look like. Olympic gold medalist Collier cofounded the women’s Unrivaled league with fellow WNBA star Breanna Strewart for the sake of doing better by the players. Basketball leagues ought to pay women athletes as well as they pay their male counterparts. And the standard for women’s basketball sneakers should be no different. In Jordan Brand, Collier found a kindred spirit.

“To be heard like that and to have someone create a shoe based on your insights, it makes you feel like this is more than just a transactional thing,” Collier tells Highsnobiety. “[Jordan Brand] really cares about supporting the women’s game. The men have stuff that makes theirs interesting and we have stuff that makes ours interesting. To have a shoe that’s specifically made for us is awesome.”

The previous Heir Series sneaker was the brand’s lowest-cut shoe to date, thanks to a drop-in midsole technology that better suited women hoopers’ feet. With the Heir Series 2, Jordan Brand bumped up the height of the insoles, widened the shape for arch and ankle support, and added padding all around with Nike’s Air Zoom cushioning underfoot. These are the technical distinctions. To more obviously signal the shoe’s intent, Jordan Brand placed a hair tie on the heel. 

The shoe debuted alongside Jordan Brand’s Generational Greatness campaign, which features an all-women cast. Teyana Taylor, Niecy Nash, and Collier herself star alongside the upcoming Air Jordan 6 “Salesman” sneaker — basically a remake of a rare sample pair of “Reverse Infrared” 6s — and the Heir Series 2. 

“This should be an example of how everyone should do it. The women’s game should also be your priority, not an afterthought,” Collier says. "For Jordan Brand to really lean into that, I hope that they are just one of the first examples to where this becomes the norm.” 

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