In October 2023, Shaquille O’Neal and Reebok made a major comeback announcement. The Lakers legend took over as the President of basketball operations, and there was only one he could trust to be his second in command. “And I was like you know what I need somebody that helped me build Reebok and AI was the only choice.” Now, when they are competing with Nike and Adidas among other brands, Allen Iverson’s inputs matter a lot. But did you know, there was a chance that history would have been completely different as the company had plans to reject The Answer.
The former Reebok CEO had nearly rejected the idea of offering Iverson $10 million. Paul Fireman expressed doubts, but two young executives at the time, Que Gaskins and Todd Krinsky, stood up for AI. Krinsky is now the CEO of Reebok and recalled the instance on the latest docuseries. “Paul’s famous line was, ‘There’ll always be another Allen Iverson.’ And in unison, Que and I got up and said, ‘No, there won’t,’” Todd recalled. That was seemingly convincing enough, as in 1996, Iverson signed a 10-year deal worth $50 million.
It will be close to three decades since that deal, so the current CEO trusts Bubba Chuck’s judgment. So, much so that back in the day, he made them change multiple designs of the famous sneaker series, ‘The Answer.’ “He was like, ‘Yo, I ain’t wearing that. I guess start over, start over.’ So, we did go through a little bit of that.” Even the 76ers legend agreed that the judgment of the new Reebok shoe won’t be easy.
“I know that I’m going to be tough on the shoe because if we haven’t done anything in a while, it’s very important for us to put the right thing. First, we got to come with our best out the gate, because all eyes are on us.” Iverson revealed on Netflix’s Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal. In episode 5, AI even visits the HQ in Boston to check the final product. Shaq joined him via FaceTime and made sure his VP was fully on board with the design that the team created.
Allen Iverson’s answer was powerful yet concise
The Big Aristotle nervously asked, “How you like the shoes? You like them?” The series truly created a tense scenario with a long pause and a piece of suspenseful music in the background, adding more to the drama. Iverson replied, “Love it, man, love it. Love it.” After hearing this, even Michael Hesterberg, the design director of Reebok, was finally relieved. Thus, we have Reebok’s new performance shoes, Reebok Engine A.
Apr 25, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Former Philadelphia 76ers and hall of fame member Allen Iverson reacts after a 76ers score against the New York Knicks during the second half of game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
But the short answer from Allen Iverson means he is hiding something? Well, no. The marketing manager clarified to the audience immediately. “No reaction or positive reaction in my short experience with Allen is a good reaction. And he had a very positive one,” said Colin Bell. Then we finally got the enthusiastic response from the 2001 MVP.
“I rock with all the colors, they tough. We’re back! Back like we left something, man. This is how you do it, right here.” There are more such moments of struggle and success for Reebok as they mount a challenge at the spot. The docuseries sheds light on those moments as Shaquille O’Neal and Iverson continue the Reebok rebuild.
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