Among the 255 million+ weekly shoppers, Shaquille O’Neal is probably Walmart’s favorite. He loves it so much that he even made a shoe deal with the retail giant in the 90s. After the failure of his Reebok deal, the Big Aristotle sold sneakers from his newly launched Shaq Brand at Walmart at an affordable price, leaving many astonished and wondering about the reason behind his unique gesture. O’Neal’s former Orlando Magic teammate, Penny Hardaway, seems to know why.

Praising the business-savvy O’Neal during his latest appearance on a podcast, Hardaway detailed how cleverly the Los Angeles Lakers legend handled the situation with Reebok. When O’Neal saw his shoe line sales struggling, he turned to Walmart, the most visited yet underrated store.

“He was so smart. He actually put his shoes in Walmart and then he marked them down tremendously just to say, ‘Hey, I’m doing this for the community.’ Shaq was also a businessman which we see now and very smart. Like you see him on every commercial like you saying he’s going to do him,” Hardaway revealed on the Let’s Be Clear podcast. 

Unlike Shaq’s initial lucrative Reebok deal, this one was a great success. A mother once criticized him for endorsing luxury shoes priced over $180. This urged O’Neal to walk away from a $40 million deal and start his own brand offering affordable shoes. In an interview with Full Send, he explained that kids prefer shoes that are both cool and affordable, so he set prices between $19 and $29.

During a conversation in 2021, the 4x NBA champ revealed his brand had already sold 400 million pairs of shoes. This number continues to rise as the shoes remain available in the store. However, the 4x NBA champ has rejoined Reebok as the president of basketball and has numerous collaborations with them too. On the other hand, Hardaway had tremendous success with his own shoe line, which still remains popular today.

Penny Hardaway’s success with Nike

It came as no surprise that Hardaway was believed to be the one to take over from Michael Jordan as a prestigious shoe endorser in the future. Upon entering the NBA, both Shaquille O’Neal and Penny signed with sports apparel brands Reebok and Nike, respectively. While O’Neal’s trajectory with his billion-dollar brand is well-known to the people, Penny, on the other hand, enjoyed massive success with Nike.

In 1995, Nike launched Penny’s signature Air Penny shoe series, which eventually included four signature shoes. The ‘Lil Penny’ sneakers became iconic, more so for the legendary marketing campaign. He even opened up about how it came to be thanks to a marketing agency and Chris Rock. This was quite an intriguing move showing Nike’s interest in potential athletes. Not just Jordan but his best teammate Scottie Pippen was also robbed of an opportunity by the Orlando Magic Star.

Pippen was originally slated for the famous and futuristic Nike Foamposite sneaker, but it ended up being associated with Hardaway. When Hardaway saw the sneakers, he was immediately in love with them. However, injuries took a toll on both his on-court and off-court career. Eventually, Hardaway was traded to the Phoenix Suns and soon, Nike began to seek a new endorser. 

While all these are just business endeavors for Shaq, it’s not solely about profit. This initiative has brought smiles to many parents and kids. And probably, that’s why he is one of the most successful athlete-turned-businessmen today!

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.