Reebok appoints Shaquille O’Neal as president of basketball

Authentic Brands-owned Reebok announced on Thursday the appointment of Shaquille O’Neal to the role of president of Reebok basketball.

As Reebok’s first-ever president of basketball, the former NBA star will lead the brand’s basketball category strategy and cultivate partnerships with athletes and organizations.

Reebok’s partnership with O’Neal goes back to 1992 when the basketballer entered the NBA scene as a rookie, wearing Reeboks.

Since then, O’Neal has endeavored to remain in close contact with the U.S. sportswear brand, becoming an investor in parent firm Authentic Brands Group, ​which acquired Reebok from Adidas for $2.46 billion in 2022, with the prompting from O’Neal, the group’s second-largest shareholder.

“We are thrilled to be expanding upon our partnership with Shaquille with this historic appointment. As an athlete, he made an incredible imprint on not only our brand, but the entire sport and culture of basketball,” said Todd Krinsky, Reebok CEO.

“With the combination of his deep-rooted history with Reebok and reigning influence he’s made on the game, there is no one better than this guy to take the helm and lead our brand back to reclaiming its rightful place and dominance in basketball.” 

In conjunction with this appointment, Reebok has appointed  Allen Iverson, as vice president Reebok basketball. In his expanded role with Reebok, Iverson will help drive player recruitment, grassroots and community-based initiatives, and athlete activations.

The appointment of the newly created positions comes after Reebok’s announcement earlier this month plans to focus on team sport and the sportswear brand’s global commitment to performance basketball.