Apart from the ability to achieve glory on the hardwood, several of the NBA’s superstars have successfully created thriving business empires. Of all the stars who have excelled in basketball and business alike, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal are probably the most popular. MJ23’s business interests range from investments in sports teams to tequila. Shaq has also invested in sports teams and he has also gotten into a plethora of ventures from restaurant chains to car washes. However, both these legends have excelled in one particular business and both have made fortunes out of it.

Michael Jordan’s ‘Air Jordan’ merchandise sold by Nike is the most famous among the 6x-NBA champion’s off the court ventures. MJ shook hands with Nike during his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls and he has been making a fortune ever since. The Air Jordan range of sneakers is so popular that almost every sneaker head and fashion enthusiast covets a pair of them. However, His Airness is not the only player in the sneaker industry. Shaquille O’Neal too had introduced his line of sneakers to the market but keeping a very different interest in mind.

Shaquille O’Neal helped children through his shoe business

The Los Angeles Lakers legend had earlier partnered with Reebok to launch his line of basketball sneakers. The ‘Shaq Attaq’ was the first of Reebok’s Shaq sneakers. However, after a few years, Shaq and Reebok parted ways and Shaq launched his own line of Sneakers named Dunkman.

In a recent ESPN episode on Jordan sneakers, footwear industry and lifestyle writer Nick de Paula pointed out that many of the Shaq sneakers were inspired by their Jordan counterparts. However, none of them were actual Jordan copies because there were just the right amount of changes in design.

“I guess there’s this window that if you change the design by like 15-20%, then it’s like a loophole where they can’t say it’s a copy,” he noted. “So a lot of Shaq shoes over the years-they were like Jordan 3 inspired,” de Paula added. Shaq used this shrewd business strategy, but for a noble cause.

An interesting thing about the big man’s sneakers is the fact that they are affordable. Despite being sold and endorsed by a superstar like Shaquille O’Neal, those shoes are much more affordable and accessible than the Jordan parallels.

Speaking of Shaq’s shoe business strategy, Nick de Paula further added, “It’s awesome because if you are a kid and like you know, this shoe is 35 or 40 bucks, you can’t afford 150 and plus. Then there is a market for that and he had a huge success out of it.”

The story behind the birth of Dunkman sneakers

The USP of Dunkman sneakers is their affordability. The motive behind Shaq’s decision to create affordable sneakers was a mother. As the story goes, Shaq’s deal with Reebok was live and running. However, a boy’s mother accosted the big man for the price of his expensive kids’ sneakers.

Moreover, she said that she can’t possibly buy it for her child as they are too expensive. The mother reminded the former MVP of his childhood, when his parents were not able to buy him expensive shoes. In a moment of epiphany, Shaq walked out of the deal with Reebok and then launched his signature brand- Dunkman.

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Apart from their flamboyant NBA careers, His Airness and the Big Aristotle have also excelled in the shoe business. While MJ’s shoes dominate the market for being the symbol of style and luxury, Shaq’s shoes are popular for their affordability and accessibility.

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