Despite Ditching $151 Billion Co., Allen Iverson Doubles Down on Major Decision Decades Later

Allen Iverson is the legend of the Philadelphia 76ers. His influence on the game is unmatched, even though he was considered short at the time. Recently, it was announced that AI would be honored with a sculpture. He essentially changed the game with his never-before-seen crossovers.

In the latest video released on the Complex YouTube channel, Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson were sneaker shopping for the National Youth of the Yand and the and National Military Youth of the Year. AI speaks about his journey with Reebok after rejecting Nike, whose current market cap is $151 billion.

During an interview, “The Answer” was sharing his experience of meeting Nike and how he ended up signing with Reebok. AI replied, “I remember that like it was yesterday because that was a big decision for me you know what I mean. Just looking back on it you know I feel good about the decision I made. You know what I mean with the loyalty from Reebok and our relationship.”

He continued with how confident he was with the shoe design, but with the help of the sales team to help him over the years become more marketable.

The 48-year-old contract offer in 2001 was $10 million from Nike, and Reebok’s offer was for $50 million. So financially, it made sense for him to sign with Reebok. Since then, Reebok and AI have built a rapport like no other.

Why Shaq considers Allen Iverson a perfect fit for the Vice President’s role?

The host also asked Shaq about his decision to purchase Reebok and how long it took for the conversations to materialize. Shaq replied, “Well the company I am involved with is the Authentic Brands Group. I convinced him for the past 10 years we need to purchase Rebook. I remember when Reebok had great players that would kill a lot of the players on the other side. You know we’re a licensing company so I urged him to you know get him back and I asked if I could be the president.”

Shaq presents a compelling case for why Allen Iverson would excel in the role of VP at the company. AI is a highly respected voice in the basketball community, and many people value his insights and opinions. Also, for this new challenge, there is nobody better to side by side with Shaq than Iverson.

“And I was like you know what I need somebody that helped me build Reebok and AI was the only choice. When I’m out doing my stuff talking to certain people I could talk to my people. But I know all the guards, all the shooters, and all the street ball players everybody going to listen to him. So I called him up and said hey let’s try to build Reebok up. And when you’re a great athlete like we were it’s all about challenges. So this is just another challenge for us.”

Read More: Allen Iverson, After Baring His Heart to “Bro Bro”, Pens Wholesome 7-Word Message for HoF Selection