Despite Renewing Reebok Ties, Shaquille O’Neal Continues to Fulfill Old Promise In New Sneaker Venture

The day an old lady ripped Shaquille O’Neal to shreds in the street was a turning point for his entire life. The Dunkman was Reebok’s first signature athlete and his Shaq Attaq sneakers had made it one of the top brands in the business, rivaling Nike and Air Jordan. Until he walked away from a $40 million contract extension. Affordable footwear has been O’Neal’s primary goal since then. Today he’s back at Reebok in a new capacity and reviving it to its former glory in the ’90s. But he keeps his goal to make sneakers affordable to his young fans with the launch of his latest kicks.

Kyle Barbuti, a footwear designer and Shaq’s go-to guy, unveiled the latest offering from the big man. The Shaq Raq Low is the new star of its namesake’s affordable footwear collection. It’s an affordable basketball performance shoe priced at $40 to $50 and a lifestyle model as low as $35. This has been the price range of Shaq’s affordable footwear line for a long time. Though it’s not part of Reebok, it bears the iconic Dunkman logo on it.

Barbuti designed a shoe imagining the Big Aristotle playing today’s basketball. He describes his design as, “knitted textile with TPU thread flexes, breathes but still reacts to the force and pressure exerted! Using a super high response Phylon EVA, I set the foot as deep as possible within the carrier to give that aggressive sidewall of support. The midsole design holds a strong 90s influence with modern touches and Automotive interest. The siped herringbone traction pattern and lateral outrigger keeps you gripped and balanced.”

He concluded with, “The enhanced low cut stance along with the right mixed material and lacing system should perform better than any other shoe on the market under 100$ if not higher!!” Barbuti’s creation for Shaq is holding up to that statement.

Early reviews of the sneaks are positive. Testers are amazed at the quality of the materials and the utility for that price. Social media users even believe this shoe is worth more than $45 but love how O’Neal has kept a quality performance sneaker accessible.

The Shaq Raq is available primarily at Kohl’s along with other affordable footwears like the Shaq Speed Demon ($40), the Shaq H.O.F. ($50), and the loafers O’Neal himself has been seen in, the Shaqival ($35).

This exact footwear line was previously available at Walmart. How he ended up there, though, was a whole other story.

Shaq balances Reebok duties with his promise

Shaquille O’Neal was the star of Reebok before Allen Iverson stepped up. Until one day a mom berated him on the street for selling overpriced shoes to kids. It hit Shaq, whose own parents struggled to find him affordable shoes in the size 18 to 22 range, very hard.

He left Reebok in 1998 to launch an affordable line of footwear at Walmart. Those shoes, available in kids and adult sizes, started as low as $10. Walmart sold over 120 million pairs before he expanded into Kohl’s.

In 2023, O’Neal and Iverson returned as the president and vice-president of Reebok basketball, respectively. They signed on Angel Reese, who debuted Reebok’s first basketball performance shoe in a decade – the Reebok Engine A – at her last rookie matchup against Caitlin Clark. Shaq got his son, Shareef involved in the design, which shows how serious he is about it.

The Reebok Engine A is set for a retail launch in 2025. But the Shaq Raq performance shoe is now at Kohl’s.