When Elena Delle Donne heard about Nike’s new shoes designed for people with disabilities and the college student behind them, she thought immediately about her sister, Lizzie.

Lizzie, who has cerebral palsy and is blind and deaf, is often one of the people that the Delle Donne cites for the reasons she does many things: She was thought to be part of the reason Delle Donne made her still-famous decision to leave top-ranked UConn after only a few days to return home and attend the University of Delaware her freshman year of college. And she’s given Delle Donne a different dimension to the world than many WNBA players.

So when Nike facilitated an introduction first on Twitter and then this weekend in Connecticut with Matthew Walzer, the 19-year old college student who challenged to make a shoe that he and other people with special needs could put on with ease, she felt an instant connection.

“The thing about him is he’s not doing this for himself,” she said. “He’s so selfless and he’s so excited about all of the people will help.”

Walzer issued the challenge to Nike three years ago, as he was approaching college and wanted to be as independent as possible. One obstacle the shoe company could help him eliminate, he thought, was making it easier for him to tie his shoes – a simple thing for many that becomes frustratingly complex for people with disabilities. Nike shoes, he said, were great for balance and extremely comfortable – but getting them on and off was a huge problem.

“I am able to completely dress myself, but my parents still have to tie my shoes,” Walzer wrote in a letter to Nike. The letter started what was a three year process of Walzer working with Nike designers to come up with a shoe that is easier to get on and off but still provides the same support – and fashion sense that other Nike shoes have.

“With my sister I know just how difficult it is to get her shoe on and just to tie her shoe, right now she wears a Velcro shoe that doesn’t look that great,” said Delle Donne.

The Nike Zoom Soldier LeBron Flyease shoes were unveiled earlier this month and Delle Donne sent Walzer a video message to congratulate him on the launch. On Saturday, he’ll be cheering her on at the WNBA All-Star game. It’s Delle Donne’s first All-Star game, after injuries kept her out of the 2014 All-Star game.

“I knew about Elena I’d seen highlights on SportsCenter and stuff but I’d never heard about her whole story until Nike explained it in Los Angeles,” he said. “So to see her whole story it’s just really touching that she followed this whole thing and she actually sent me a really nice message when I was in Los Angeles … so now I’m a huge Elena Delle Donne fan.”

This season Delle Donne’s led the Sky to an 11-6 record for second place in the Eastern Conference heading into the All-Star Break. She’s having one of the best seasons in professional basketball history and was the leading vote-getter of the All-Stars. But for both her and Walzer, meeting on Friday was bigger than just the game and at the same time as simple as a new friendship. During tonight’s game, she expects a small gesture may for her be bigger than her first All-Star Game.

She’ll be wearing the shoes that Nike designed for Walzer.

“I just want him to be able to witness his shoe being worn on the court,” she said.