During his college days, Shaquille O’Neal was a force on the court at LSU. For his first athlete signing as president of Reebok Basketball, he recruited a baller who is currently dominating at his alma mater.
Today, Reebok announced that it has signed LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese. This is the brand’s first long-term name, image and likeness (NIL) partnership.
“Outside of announcing Shaq in a management role, this is our first move into basketball. Our first move isn’t a male NBA player, it’s a women’s college player. It’s a big statement about how we’re looking at the landscape,” Reebok CEO Todd Krinsky told FN. “Also, it’s a statement about the type of personality we’re looking for. She’s irreverent, she’s got this love me or hate me attitude, she’s very strong willed. She’s also obviously as influential off the court as she is on the court.”
He continued, “This is the profile, male or female, of the type of basketball player we want to be in business with.”
In April on “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” O’Neal said Reese is the greatest athlete to come out of LSU sports. Nick Woodhouse, president and chief marketing officer of Authentic Brands Group — the company that acquired Reebok from Adidas in August 2021 — told FN that O’Neal made it clear that Reese needed to be aligned with the brand.
“He FaceTimed Todd and I and was like, ‘I needed you to meet somebody.’ We were like, ‘Oh, we know who Angel is.’ He said, ‘She’s the one,'” Woodhouse explained. “He really loved, as we all did, what Angel said about basketball. She’s like, ‘I can go on the court and be myself and I hope that can inspire young girls to play.’ We’ve heard that before, but it’s different when someone’s actually going out and doing it.”
Krinsky added, “We have a history of allowing athletes to be themselves, if you think through the years of the creative we’ve done, the marketing we’ve done. We haven’t tried to put them into some kind of framework. She wants to continue to express herself, and we’re here to amplify that.”
Aside from her on-court prowess, which includes leading LSU to its first-ever women’s basketball national championship in the 2022-23 season (and earning Most Outstanding Player honors), the college senior is also fashionable. Reese’s sense of style has earned her deals with the likes of DTLR, Coach and more.
Reebok said Reese will be positioned at the forefront of its lifestyle, fashion and performance product stories, starting in fall ’23. Also, the brand said she will work with its product teams to influence future designs and innovations, which includes her own collection that will launch in fall ’24.
“Reebok is super authentic to my brand. They have the styles that I wear. Their clothing and their shoes, I just love everything that aligns with them,” Reese told FN. “I know I can wear these things every day, whether that be walking out of the house, going for coffee, exercising, or just having some fun with style. I know that I can always wear different pieces from the brand and they’re super versatile.”
What’s more, Reebok stated it will support Reese’s philanthropic endeavors, which includes her Angel C. Reese Foundation. Reese’s foundation is focused on ensuring equal opportunities for all girls in sports, education, financial literacy and more.
Last week, Reebok announced that it tapped O’Neal — the second-largest individual shareholder of Authentic — as president of Reebok Basketball, and named NBA great Allen Iverson the VP. Reese said Reebok’s continued association with these two basketball icons impacted her decision to join the brand.
“Shaq and Allen Iverson, those two great players have shifted and made Reebok known for what it is in the sports and cultural landscape, and I hope to carry on that tradition,” Reese said. “As a woman, and as a Black woman, it’s important to me, and my goal is to be the next women’s face to help grow the brand.”
