Top 5 former NBA players who had major deals with Reebok

NBA players are often seen collaborating with big brands after they reach a certain level of success in their careers. These blockbuster deals help evolve the sport and give a lot of freedom to the players. The biggest example of this is Nike. The sports apparel company decided to collaborate with NBA superstar Michael Jordan and the rest is history.

These deals are worth millions of dollars and the clauses on these contracts are player-friendly, which make it even better. In today's article, we talk about former NBA players that had major deals with Reebok.

Five NBA players who had shoe- deal with Reebok

#5 Shawn Kemp

Shawn Kemp was one of the best players on the Seattle SuperSonics team during the '90s. His rise to prominence helped him sign a deal with Reebok. Kemp's first signature shoe was Reebok Kamikaze, which was released in 1995.

The Kamikaze collection did well and the following year, the Kemp brand also dropped the Kamikaze 2, which Kemp wore to the 1996 NBA Finals against the Chicago Bulls.

#4 Dominique Wilkins

Dominique Wilkins was one of the best players on the Atlanta Hawks roster during the '80s. He appeared in 9 All-Star games as a Hawks player and gained prominence due to his brilliance there. The forward signed a four-year personal endorsement contract with Reebok International to promote 'Pump', which were inflatable athletic shoes.

Wilkins wore the Reebok Pump for the first time in 1989. However, the shoe got its recognition after rookie Dee Brown's sensational dunk in the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest. Reebok relaunched Wilkin's signature shoe, the Pump Twilight Zone, back in 2012. It came out in a white/neon/red/yellow and black colorway.

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#3 Yao Ming

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Yao Ming is highly rated as one of the best Asian players to play in the NBA. He became renowned in the league, courtesy of his brilliance in the paint. Ming was signed by Nike in his rookie year. However, they decided to part ways with him, which led him to sign a contract with Reebok.

Ming wore the Reebok Pump Showstopper during the 2006-07 season and the RBK Voyager Mid during the 2007-08 season. Reebok also ran a campaign with Yao Ming in his home country of China. After a great career, the big man decided to retire from basketball in 2011 owing to the multiple injuries he had suffered during the latter stages of his stint at the Houston Rockets.

#2 Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson is considered to be one of the best ball handlers in the game of basketball. He was effortless in his approach and oozed confidence in what he did. His brilliance on the court helped him win the MVP award in 2001, but other than that he was assured a lifetime contract with Reebok.

The contract means that Iverson earns around $8,00,000 yearly salary. He also has a lucrative trust fund set up for him by Reebok. This fund makes Allen Iverson eligible to claim an amount of $32 million from Reebok on his 55th birthday. AI's first shoe was the Reebok Question, which came out during his rookie year in 1996. He also has a series of shoes named 'Reebok Answer'.

#1 Shaquille O'Neal

Shaquille O'Neal is highly regarded by many as one of the most dominant players in the game of basketball. His brilliance on the court helped him sign a lucrative $15 million deal with Reebok. As a rookie, Shaq already had a contract that would pay him $2.5 million per year.

However, Shaq famously cut off ties with Reebok in 1998 after an incident where a lady accused Reebok of being too costly. At that moment Shaq decided to walk off a five-year $40 million deal offered by Reebok. The Reebok Shaq Line had some incredible shoes like the Shaq Attaq 1, which the center wore as a rookie. Reebok later also came out with Shaqnosis under the Shaq line.

Edited by Arnav Kholkar