“I’ve always said Reebok was never number one but never number three.” Shaquille O’Neal stated that at one time, Reebok used to be at the top, competing with Nike, but now it is nowhere near that. So, he wanted to bring in quick changes once he assumed the position of president of Reebok Basketball in October 2023. But penetrating the market was never going to be easy. Shaq learned it the hard way, and it was his son who actually gave him a reality check.

When Shareef O’Neal wanted to move to Australia to continue hooping, his dad stepped in. The fear of open-heart surgery to treat an anomalous coronary artery diagnosis in 2018 still lingered over the NBA icon. So instead, he asked his son to help him in designing shoes that the current generation would like. Shareef accepted it, and the meeting about producing the shoe led to a major revelation for Shaq.

“The first valuable lesson I learned cuz when I came in, I was like ‘Hey man, where’s the high tops?’ They like, ‘we don’t do high tops.’ Like, I don’t give a f— what you don’t do we’re doing high tops.” During his recent appearance on the latest episode of the ‘New Heights’ podcast, Shaquille O’Neal said he wanted the design to be in high tops. Rather than confronting his father, Shareef O’Neal decided on a more practical method to drive the point home about the trends of low tops.

“I brought my son in to help me speak the language of these youngsters cuz, as you guys know, these f—ing youngsters are crazy. My son was very smart, you know, I told him very well. He knows that he can’t confront me. So he said, ‘Dad, I want you to come to a tournament with me.’ So I go to the tournament and he’s like, ‘I don’t want you to watch the game. I just want you to look at all the shoes.” The 4x NBA champion focused on the shoes and finally noticed the low-top trend.

“I’m talking 20 f—ing courts not just one court, like low tops, low tops, low tops. I was like ‘holy sh– everybody was right. We don’t even do high tops no more.” After this, apparently, Shaquille O’Neal did not demand a change in the design of the shoe. Even in the Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal EP 2, the Big Aristotle discussed this.

“They don’t play in high tops no more?” He further continued, “It’s six people in the meeting, we do it simply. I didn’t like it, everybody else liked it, that’s 5 to 1 (votes in favor of low cuts), so we go with it.” That’s how Reebok’s latest product, Engine A, came into existence. And its growth is very much personal to O’Neal.

Exploring Shaquille O’Neal’s true connection with sneaker giant

Reebok’s association with Shaq goes back to 1992, the very same year when he was the overall number one pick in the NBA draft. Reebok produced iconic footwear like the Shaq Attaq and Shaqnosis shoes before O’Neal left the brand in 1998. In 2015, O’Neal bought shares in Authentic Brands Group, the company that acquired Reebok from Adidas in 2021.

Shaquille O’Neal is currently the second-largest individual shareholder of ABG, who also own dozens of other brands such as Forever 21, Barneys New York, JCPenney, among others. When he became the President, the idea was clear to reclaim the old glory. That is why Shareef, too, was all in helping his father in rebranding Reebok. He even made a bold prediction about the company.

“We’re doing a really good job. I’d say that by the time 2025 starts, Reebok will be up there with the rest of these brands.” With a few of the sizes already sold out of ‘Engine A’, Shaquille O’Neal’s plan to involve his son could turn into a master stroke. Let’s also give credit to the 25-year-old’s master mind plan to get his father onboard in the first place.