After signing a sponsorship take care of Reebok in October 2023, Angel Reese has expressed her interest in becoming the face of the footwear brand for ladies’s basketball.

On August 30, Reese’s sneaker ambitions will grow to be a reality when the rookie WNBA star gets the chance to debut his first Reebok basketball shoe in nearly a decade. During Friday night’s Sky-Indiana Fever game, Reese will lace up the Reebok “Engine A,” cementing the brand’s official relaunch in basketball footwear for the reason that release of the ZPump Rise in October 2015.

“Reebok has held me to my word since day one,” Reese told ESPN’s Alexa Philipou before Friday’s game. “Everything I wanted, all the creative control, I got it. (Reebok president of basketball operations) Shaq (O’Neal) told me I was going to be the face of Reebok, and I still am. Obviously, I get to debut a new basketball shoe today, so I’m excited.”

“I’ll definitely have my own branded shoes in the future – that’s for sure.”

Reese is about to grow to be just the second WNBA player in history to receive a Reebok signature shoe, following women’s basketball legend and current ESPN radio host Rebecca Lobo.

“As a former Reebok athlete, I’m thrilled that the company is once again producing high-performance basketball shoes,” Lobo told Andscape in an email. “I’m excited about the explosion of popularity of women’s basketball over the past year and a half, and Angel’s partnership with Reebok is another example of how much the women’s game has grown.”

In 1997, Lobo became the primary female basketball player chosen to wear Reebok’s signature shoe after lacing up the “Lobo” (1997) and “Lobo II” (1998) in the course of the WNBA’s first two seasons. Another female basketball player, Saudia Roundtree, who played in the WNBA’s short-lived alternative American Basketball League, also received signature shoes from Reebok in the late Nineteen Nineties.

However, it has been 13 years since Reebok released its own signature basketball shoe. In October 2012, former NBA star John Wall’s third and final Reebok shoe, the Zig Escape, was released.

Meet Reese, the 6-foot-3 forward who gained fame as “Bayou Barbie” during her collegiate profession at Louisiana State University. Ahead of her final 2023-24 season, Reese has entered into an unprecedented NIL footwear and apparel partnership with Reebok, which began together with her relationship with the brand’s longtime star and LSU teammate, Shaquille O’Neal.

O’Neal, who received nine signature models from Reebok between 1992 and 1998, returned to the brand in October 2023 as president of the redesigned basketball division. After appointing former signature star Allen Iverson as vp of Reebok Basketball, O’Neal didn’t hesitate to call the primary athlete to sign with the division.

Less than a week after O’Neal and Iverson took their positions, Reebok officially announced long-term partnership with Reese, making it probably the most high-profile transfer of a basketball player since Wall in 2010.

“Angel seems like a perfect fit for Reebok,” Lobo told Andscape, “especially because of her relationship with Shaq.”

Earlier this yr, after the Chicago Sky chosen her seventh overall in the WNBA draft, Reese took to social media to detail her decision to take a likelihood and partner with Reebok as an alternative of other brands that already had established a foothold 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 basketball player on their face. So I wanted to be one. Two, Shaq. And three, I like how Reebok rebrands everything and lets me be the creator of whatever I want to do. So I have my own shoe line, my own merch… You like what I wear, you like how I dress, you like my style. I wanted to incorporate that into Reebok.”

Reese definitely didn’t disappoint Reebok or women’s basketball in her first season, averaging highs of 13.3 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, and her best achievement was a WNBA-record 15 consecutive double-doubles. In July, Reese made her first appearance in the WNBA All-Star Game, and a reporter candidly asked her to verify whether she and Reebok branded shoes coming soon“Definitely,” Reese replied with a smile. “Definitely.”

On August 23, the “Reebok by Angel” collection was introduced as the primary official Reese brand collaboration, featuring three different footwear styles and a trio of apparel pieces.

Now, Reese will debut the primary Reebok basketball sneaker since 2015. Ironically, the sneaker’s debut will happen in a match against Rookie of the Year candidate and Nike player Caitlyn Clark, in which Sky and Fever will face off against the very best. the most costly ticket in the history of the league.

“We are thrilled to introduce the Engine A, Reebok’s first basketball shoe in over a decade,” O’Neal and Iverson said in a joint statement. “To live up to this milestone and debut on the court, we knew we needed someone who embodied the Reebok culture, attitude, individuality and passion. For us, that person had to be Angel Reese.”

After Friday’s event, the following time Reese sees a Reebok basketball shoe debut, it should be her own shoes.

“Angel has historically had a great rebounding season. We’ve never seen anyone rebound like her, especially on offense,” Lobo told Andscape. “She also has a great fashion sense off the court, so I can’t wait to see what Reebok comes up with for her debut signature shoe.”