Reebok has named NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson as president of basketball and vice president of basketball, respectively, the brand said in a statement Thursday.

As the leader of the brand’s return to making performance basketball footwear, O’Neal will be tasked with leading “the brand’s basketball category strategy and cultivating partnerships with athletes and organisations in the brand’s quest to return to its position as a dominant force in the sport,” the release said. Meanwhile, 11-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson will help drive athlete recruitment as well as community-based activations, the brand added.

O’Neal — an NBA Hall of Famer and shareholder of Reebook parent company Authentic Brands Group — was first signed by Reebok ahead of his rookie season in 1992, a deal which constituted the brand’s biggest endorsement deal at the time and led to the release of its first-ever signature sneaker, the “Shaq Attack”.

It is hoped that O’Neal’s star power and connections in the world of basketball and pop culture will help the brand reassert its credentials both as a performance and lifestyle brand. In February 2022, ABG launched a strategic partnership with New Guards Group — focussed on luxury partnerships and premium distribution — to help grow the Reebok brand, which it had acquired for $2.5 billion the year prior.

O’Neal’s and Iverson’s appointments come amidst a growing trend of sportswear brands tapping athletes for far more than just endorsements. Swiss running brand On, for example, counts tennis all-time great tennis player Roger Federer among its shareholders and has used the association to credibly expand into the sport, releasing signature performance and lifestyle tennis sneakers that are now worn by players on the professional tour, such as Ben Shelton and Iga Swiatek.

Reebok added that more details of the collaboration will be released in the coming months, with product set to “return to the court” from 2025.

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