Аллиша Грей представила коллекцию защитных очков и кроссовок Nike после травмы на Олимпиаде

Allisha Gray’s signature accessory came from an injury she never saw coming. While at training camp for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 3x3 basketball, the WNBA star was on the receiving end of a painful (and accidental) poke in the eye. “It just hurt so bad,” the Atlanta Dream guard tells Women’s Health. She decided to try out protective goggles for the Olympics as a precautionary measure in a super-physical style of basketball. The U.S. team won the gold medal, and Gray found her new on-court armor. “They felt so nice and protected my eyes, so I just brought it to the W with me.” The goggles offered a new layer of security for Gray, an aggressive guard who often finds herself in the paint driving in for rebounds. “That feeling of being poked in the eye—I never wanted to feel that feeling again,” she says. And as a prescription contact lens wearer, she also appreciates that they help prevent her from losing one during play. After all, she says, “contacts aren't cheap!” Now, she considers her custom on-court specs an extension of her, the way some athletes wear the same headbands or compression sleeves when they compete. “It's just a part of me,” she says. “If I don't have my goggles, I don't feel right.” So it only makes sense that Nike would tap Gray to collaborate on a special-edition pair of Flyfree Shield lenses—as well as her own player edition A’Two sneaker, dubbed “Slept On,” to highlight all the facets of her unique and dynamic gameplay. The Specs on the Specs Gray worked with the Nike vision team for about three years to perfect her custom goggle design—they’re fog- and humidity-proof and strong enough to withstand the impact of a highly physical basketball game. “It definitely took a while to get it to the exact specs that I needed it to be,” she says. “I feel like with this year's lenses, we finally got it right. It has all the perfect technology where I can play throughout the whole game and just not have to worry about my goggles.” On game day, Gray has several pairs of goggles and cleaning supplies at her disposal. While she used to take care of all that herself, she’s since passed on goggle management duties to Sydney Durrah, director of basketball systems and content operations for the Dream, who keeps them clean or helps her switch them up when needed. “Say I drive to the basket and I get fouled and somebody's hand wipes across and my sweat gets all over the glasses, I'll run to the table and change them,” Gray says. “Or say I miss a couple shots and I'm like, ‘Oh, from a mental standpoint, these goggles aren’t it tonight,’ then I'll change them.” Though she’s never really had a mid-game goggle mishap—“They've been good to me,” she says—they have been on the receiving end of some heated moments. “I mean, I know when I get mad, I've thrown them before,” she says with a laugh. “But they had great durability to them, because they was just fine.” These days, fans know her by her eyewear. “It's funny when people see me and [say], ‘Oh, I almost didn't recognize you without your goggles,’” she says. “It's kind of cool how the goggles have become my identity, in a way.” The Dream even hosted a “Goggle Lish Night” earlier this week, gifting goggles to all fans in attendance. Seeing the entire arena (including her friends and teammates!) rock the goggles was “amazing,” she says. The new Nike drop sold out soon after. “It just shows the unwavering support that I have, and it made me feel really special.” Stepping Up Her Game Gray’s goggle launch is also accompanied by the release of her “Slept On” PE, a cosmic purple edition of the A’Two sneaker. Gray is longtime friends with the shoe’s namesake, A’ja Wilson; the two were teammates and roommates at the University of South Carolina and won a national championship together in 2017. Gray feels like “Slept On” fits her perfectly. “Throughout my career, I've kind of flown under the radar,” she says. “I've always just continued working hard, just stayed in my place, and when the time presents itself, I feel like I've stepped up and performed.” The four-time All-Star and 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year says some of her biggest career accolades are literally woven into the fabric on the inside of the shoe, a visual representation of the way they’ve sometimes been overlooked. The most slept-on part of her game, she says, is her consistency on the court. “You're going to have those off nights, but it's just how you bounce back from it and how you continue playing hard throughout the game,” she says. If the offense isn’t working, it’s an all-out effort on defense. “People tend to only pay attention to how many points you score,” she says, “but sometimes you have to do other things to impact the game.” As for what's next, Gray is already thinking beyond basketball. If she could design another signature product, she’d go all-in on golf gear. “I love to golf, and that's another part of me that people can learn about me that's off the court,” she says. “That just allows the fans to be able to enter another part of my life.” And if Nike came calling with something a little more unexpected—say, a custom Lego set for the self-proclaimed expert Lego builder? "Oh, of course I would," she says, laughing. "If the opportunity presents itself, I absolutely would." No matter who’s watching, Gray has approached her entire career with intention—and finally, the world is watching. Amanda Lucci is the director of special projects at Women’s Health, where she works on multi-platform brand initiatives and social media strategy. She also leads the sports and athletes vertical, traveling to cover the Paris Olympics, Women’s World Cup, WNBA Finals, and NCAA Final Four for WH. She has nearly 15 years of experience writing, editing, and managing social media for national and international publications and is also a NASM-certified personal trainer. A proud native of Pittsburgh, PA, she is a graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Follow her on Instagram @alucci.