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Hibbett and Nike pulled up to Collier Hall this past Saturday for an intimate, southern-rooted celebration of the WNBA’s biggest star — and a first look at her next signature shoe.
There’s a version of the celebrity sneaker dinner you’ve seen before. Step-and-repeat. Open bar. A short toast. Out by 10.
What Hibbett threw together for A’ja Wilson on Saturday night in Atlanta wasn’t that.
Held inside Collier Hall on Howell Mill Road, the dinner — co-hosted with Nike — was a love letter to the South, to the people who shaped A’ja’s journey from Hopkins, South Carolina to back-to-back-to-back MVP seasons, and to the next chapter of her signature line. The occasion: the upcoming June 8 restock of the Nike A’ Two “A’Pink,” at Hibbett.
Around 60 guests filled the room. Not the influencer-of-the-week kind of room. The room.
The Room
Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray repped the home team. Andraya Carter — the ESPN analyst whose voice has become essential to how women’s basketball is covered right now — pulled up. K Camp brought the ATL music presence. Media personality Mariah Rose and V-103 staple Fly Guy DC rounded out the cultural side of the room.
Longtime friends, family, and a curated cross-section of Atlanta’s fashion, music, and women’s sports scenes filled out the rest of the tables. Atlanta sits a few hours from A’ja’s hometown, and the guest list reflected the network of people who’ve been there from the beginning — alongside the tastemakers shaping where her brand goes next.
“A’ja Wilson represents confidence, authenticity and cultural influence in a way that extends far beyond the game,” said Sarah Sharp-Wangaard, SVP of Marketing at Hibbett. “That connection genuinely resonates with our consumers. We chose Atlanta for this experience because of the city’s undeniable impact on sport, style and sneaker culture, and because it reflects so much of the community, energy and southern influence that have shaped A’ja’s journey.”
The Room: Black Backdrop, Pink Pulse
The creative direction leaned into A’ja’s signature palette without overplaying it. Sleek black backdrops let the iconic A’ja pink read loud across florals, textures, and lighting. A dimensional step-and-repeat anchored the entrance. Mannequins inside the hall previewed pieces of the A’ Two collection alongside a dedicated shoe display.
DJ Jazzy T held the room down behind a metallic DJ booth tucked into one corner. At one point, a Trap Choir performance reframed the night entirely — equal parts southern church, ATL block party, and signature-athlete coronation.
The Sainted Trap Choir Stole a Moment
Driving in from A’ja home state of South Carolina, The Sainted Trap Choir delivered a performance that reframed the entire night. Equal parts southern church, ATL block party, and signature-athlete coronation — the kind of moment that doesn’t translate to a recap deck and you really had to be there for.
ScottyATL on the Grillz
If you needed a single detail that summed up the room: ScottyATL was molding custom grillz on-site. No press-release cliché could touch that. The Atlanta rapper-turned-grillz-maker set up shop in the venue and took fittings throughout the night, turning what could have been a passive activation into one of the most-talked-about moments of the evening.
The Menu Was its Own Story
This is where the night really separated itself.
Instead of the usual hotel-banquet routine, Hibbett built a menu around A’ja’s actual personality and southern roots. The cocktail reception kicked off outdoors with passed champagne, chicken nugget and caviar bites, and truffle deviled eggs.
Dinner ran family-style in the main ballroom. Jalapeño cheddar cornbread muffins on every table. Individually plated kale Caesar to start. Then the spread:
- Shrimp + grits cups
- Herb-crusted lamb pops
- Caprese skewers
- Buttermilk fried chicken
- Smoked brisket
- Cedar smoked salmon
- Mac and cheese, collard greens, fries
Dessert came in mason jars — pound cake with strawberries, banana pudding, chocolate mousse, cheesecake. Southern, but with the volume turned all the way up.
The bar program was built around four custom cocktails, each named for a different piece of A’ja’s story: The Unanimous MVP (blanco tequila, prickly pear, elderflower), South Carolina Sunset (reposado, hibiscus, watermelon), The Dynasty Punch (bourbon, pomegranate, spiced honey), and The A-Two Blush — a zero-proof option built around white cranberry, watermelon, and strawberry-basil.
The Gifting
The takeaway setup paired Burnt Wax by A’ja Wilson room diffusers with custom gold chains in branded boxes — the kind of detail that makes a takeaway feel like an artifact instead of swag.
The night closed out with attendees getting an exclusive first look at the Nike A’ Two “A’Pink” along with additional pieces of the collection, weeks ahead of the public drop.
What’s Next: The Nike A’ Two “A’Pink”
The “A’Pink” colorway lands June 8 at Hibbett stores. It’s the next chapter for a signature line that has, in a remarkably short window, become one of the most-watched releases in basketball — men’s or women’s.
Saturday in Atlanta was the kind of brand moment that’s hard to manufacture. The right athlete. The right city. The right room. And a story that’s still being written.
Event photography by Jeremy Quarshie, Chad Price, and Scoot, courtesy of Hibbett. The Nike A’ Two “A’Pink” drops at Hibbett stores Hibbett.com on June 8th.
