She’s been doing it consistently. Angel Reese as per experts is the frontrunner for winning the Rookie of the Year award. She has been carrying a whole persona as is the case with stars. She has successfully made an impression with her image management skills. Previously, Reese was being projected as a villain with Caitlin Clark being the main hero. But Reese with the help of “Uncle” Shaquille O’Neal‘s son came out as a winner embracing her dark side. Shoe designer Marvin Baroota came forward on Thursday to reveal how Shareef O’Neal rescued Reese.

Baroota was present in a conversation with Women Hoops Network and gave the inside story of designing Reese’s shoes. He didn’t fail to mention that Shareef had been instrumental in helping him forge a close bond with Reese and helping her maintain her on-court swagger through custom shoes.

Marvin recollects how he got closer to Angel Reese

Baroota praised Reese for providing the optimum conditions for him to show his creativity. “I got in touch with Angel was through um, Shaquille O’Neal’s son Shareef through social media. So back in like 2017, we were just like you know, back and forth DMs. We tried doing some things…didn’t work out, but we still…we still kept that relationship. So I was like ‘Hey like you know I’m trying to do some stuff for Angel.’ She came, she just came to…in Chicago. So he connected me through her and then boom, an hour later she messages me and then the first few pairs…,” Baroota said, via Women Hoops Network.

Baroota then went through her entire custom shoe range whether it was Chi Barbie or the Baltimore Barbie. Then when Reese came into the big stage of the WNBA, the designer got her shoes of Sky Town Barbie and Joker. Especially Joker was the shoe that brought her close to the viewers since Reese was being projected as a villain against Caitlin Clark. And then the 22-year-old decided to embrace her strong-headed personality and make an impact with it. This would have also brought her closer to Uncle Shaq who had signed her on Reebok after becoming the President of Basketball Operations.

Reese had signed with Reebok in October 2023 after Shaq had assumed his new role. He made a lucrative deal with Reese since she was a rising icon in the NCAA who had just won her first title last season. Plus, Reese also belonged to Shaq’s school– The Louisiana State University Tigers which would have given Shaq some context about her background. Shaq on his podcast also called Reese the best NCAA player because as per him, the Championship rings did matter and Reese had one. Likewise, Reese has a lot to accomplish in WNBA.

Angel Reese has a long way to go

Meanwhile, with her Joker image, Reese went ahead to win the third game against the Indiana Fever last Sunday after losing two before. This made Reese a contender for the Rookie of the Year title as per celebrated journalists like Stephen A. Smith and analysts including Shannon Sharpe. Apart from that, Reese is also now a favorite to be included in the WNBA All-Star game with her arch-rival Clark.

Reese therefore will get a chance to battle it out against the Olympic team and most probably make her case for herself. The Olympic team is majorly made up of veterans therefore, apart from Reese, rookie Clark can also show her preparations by challenging the Olympic squad.

Now that Baroota has come forward to reveal his bond with Reese, we know that Shareef was responsible for bringing such a big icon to the limelight and helping her throughout. Meanwhile, Shaq too has helped Reese throughout and hopefully, it will bear fruit when Reese wins the Rookie of the Year award.

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