Since signing an endorsement deal with Reebok in October 2023, Angel Reese has expressed her desire to become the footwear brand’s face of women’s basketball.
On Aug. 30, Reese’s sneaker ambition will cross into reality when the WNBA rookie sensation for the Chicago Sky receives the opportunity to debut Reebok’s first performance basketball shoe in nearly a decade. During Friday night’s marquee matchup between the Sky and Indiana Fever, Reese will lace up the Reebok “Engine A,” cementing the brand’s official relaunch into basketball footwear since the October 2015 release of the ZPump Rise.
“Reebok has stood on business about me since day one,” Reese told ESPN’s Alexa Philipou before Friday’s game. “Everything that I’ve wanted, all the creative control, I’ve gotten. [Reebok president of basketball] Shaq [O’Neal] told me I was going to be the face of Reebok, and I continue to be that. Being able to debut the new basketball shoe today, of course, I’m excited for it.
“In my future, I will definitely have a signature shoe — for sure.”
Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images
Reese is set to become just the second WNBA player in history to receive a signature shoe from Reebok, behind only women’s basketball legend-turned-ESPN broadcaster Rebecca Lobo.
“As a former Reebok athlete, it’s great to see the company making performance basketball shoes again,” Lobo told Andscape via email. “I’m thrilled about the explosion of women’s hoops in the past year and a half, and Angel’s Reebok partnership is another example of how much the women’s game has grown.”
Back in 1997, Lobo became the first-ever women’s basketball player selected to headline a Reebok signature shoe after lacing up the “Lobo” (1997) and “Lobo II” (1998) during the first two seasons of the WNBA. Another women’s hooper, Saudia Roundtree, who played in the short-lived WNBA-alternative American Basketball League, also received the signature treatment from Reebok in the late 1990s.
Yet, it’s notably been 13 years since Reebok launched a signature model in basketball, with the October 2012 release of former NBA star John Wall’s third and final Reebok shoe, the Zig Escape.
Enter Reese, the 6-foot-3 forward who made a name for herself as the “Bayou Barbie” during her college career at Louisiana State University. Ahead of her 2023-24 senior season, Reese landed an unprecedented NIL footwear and apparel partnership with Reebok, sparked by her relationship with the brand’s longtime signature headliner and fellow LSU product, Shaquille O’Neal.
O’Neal, who received nine Reebok signature models from 1992 to 1998, returned to the brand in October 2023 as president of a re-envisioned basketball division. After appointing fellow former signature star Allen Iverson as vice president of Reebok Basketball, O’Neal didn’t hesitate to pinpoint the division’s first athlete signing.
Less than a week after O’Neal and Iverson stepped into their roles, Reebok officially announced a multiyear partnership with Reese, marking the brand’s highest-profile basketball signing since Wall in 2010.
“Angel feels like a perfect fit for Reebok,” Lobo told Andscape, “especially because of her connection to Shaq.”
Earlier this year, after the Chicago Sky selected her as the 7th overall pick in the WNBA draft, Reese took to social media to detail her decision to take a chance on Reebok over other opportunities with brands already more established in basketball.
“So many different shoe companies wanted to work with me. But I chose Reebok,” Reese said. “What was it about Reebok? One, they don’t have a women’s basketball player as a face. So I wanted to be that. Two, Shaq. And three, I like how Reebok is rebranding everything and they’re letting me be the creator behind everything I want to do. So, I have my own shoe line coming out, merch with my name on it … Y’all like what I wear, y’all like how I dress, y’all like my style. I wanted to incorporate that into Reebok.”
Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images
Reese certainly hasn’t disappointed Reebok or women’s basketball in her first season, with prolific averages of 13.3 points and 12.9 rebounds a game, highlighted by a WNBA record-breaking 15-consecutive double-doubles. In July, Reese earned her first appearance in the WNBA All-Star Game, and a reporter candidly asked her to confirm whether she and Reebok had a signature shoe in the works. “For sure,” Reese responded with a smile. “For sure.”
On Aug. 23, the “Reebok by Angel” collection rolled out as Reese’s first official brand collaboration. It featured three different footwear styles and a trio of apparel pieces.
Now, Reese will unveil Reebok’s first performance basketball sneaker since 2015. Fittingly, the sneaker debut arrives against fellow league Rookie of the Year candidate and Nike athlete Caitlyn Clark in a game between the Sky and Fever that’s yielded the highest-priced ticket reported in league history.
“We’re thrilled to unveil the Engine A, Reebok’s first performance basketball shoe in over a decade,” said O’Neal and Iverson in a joint statement. “To meet this transformative moment and debut the sneakers on court, we knew that we needed somebody who represents Reebok’s culture of attitude, individuality, and passion. For us, that person had to be Angel Reese.”
Following Friday’s moment, the next time we witness Reese debut a Reebok basketball sneaker, it will be her own.
“Angel is having a historically great season when it comes to rebounding. We’ve never seen someone rebound like her, especially on the offensive glass,” Lobo told Andscape. “She also has a great flair for fashion off the court, so I’m eager to see what Reebok comes up with for her debut signature shoe.”
