“All the baddies wear Reebok.” It was more than a promotional slogan; in fact, an emphatic statement from Angel Reese. Mentoring her in her journey to achieve excellence was none other than Shaquille O’Neal. So, once he assumed the presidency of basketball operations for Reebok, his major superstar was always going to be the Sky forward. According to the Lakers legend, the proposition was straightforward, thanks to Nike’s unfair treatment of A’ja Wilson.
On the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, Shaq gave the reason behind securing Reese the Reebok deal. “We launched our first shoe, Engine A, and the first signee I had to make was Angel Reese because I know her. So I went to (her and) said, ‘Listen, I could do something nobody’s going to do for you.‘” Naturally, the 23-year-old wanted to know what different opportunity was waiting for her.”So I can give you your own shoe. You want to go to Nike and wear everybody else’s shoe, or you want to have your own shoe.”
Further adding the details about the conversation with Jason and Travis Kelce, Shaquille O’Neal gave the example of the 3x WNBA MVP, A’ja Wilson. “Like it took A’ja Wilson, the best player in the league, she’s been in the league, I don’t know how long, but she just now got her first shoe. I said, “I can do that for you right away.” So, that was my first signing.” The Big Aristotle’s correct assessment eventually landed her the Bayou Barbie.
It was only last year when Nike announced the new Nike A’One sneaker and the accompanying apparel line for A’ja Wilson. She signed with the brand back in 2018, thus, she had to wait 6 years to get her own sneaker line. Whereas Angel Reese signed a multi-year endorsement extension with Reebok, the brand confirmed to ESPN in 2024. It promised her a signature shoe debut in 2026, just two years into the league.
Despite Shaquille O’Neal’s concern, Nike came through for A’ja Wilson
Since signing with Reebok in October 2023, Reese has fronted the Engine A launch. It’s Reebok’s first in-court performance shoe in a decade, and it teased a forthcoming signature model. Her player-exclusive ‘Clouds’ colorway nods to her ‘Sky’ team identity. Apart from this, her first Reebok performance basketball sneaker, the Engine A “Pretty Gritty,” dropped just a few days ago. The design also features a blend of Black Cherry, Pink Blast, and Black Cherry and fans can buy the basketball shoes for $120 in adult sizes. But fans had trouble buying the A’One sneaker.
A month prior, Nike released A’ja Wilson’s shoe on May 6, and people couldn’t get enough of them. After long years of waiting, they released an ad, coupled with Wilson’s star power, which seems to have worked wonders. Because the shoes sold out before many people could even complete their transactions. It only took four minutes, yes, four minutes is all it took for Nike to put up a ‘come back later’ sign.
So the proposal from Shaquille O’Neal was absolutely bang on. For context, look at Caitlin Clark’s situation with the Swoosh brand. The Fever guard signed an 8-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Nike in April last year. But there has been no concrete update on the launch of her signature collection. Definitely, a win for Reebok to cash in on their star player Angel Reese early!
The post Shaquille O’Neal Warned Angel Reese Against Following A’ja Wilson, Slamming Nike’s Unfair Treatment appeared first on EssentiallySports.