NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal stimulates amazement nearly every time he walks onto the set of TNT. The wonder? His size 22 shoe.
However, during an FN interview in 2021, Shaq admitted that he is actually a size 20.
“My shoe size is 20 but I like to wear a 22 because when I was young we couldn’t afford proper shoes so I had to wear my shoes tight,” he said. “[Now] I always get my shoes too big to make sure I have room.”
In the history of professional basketball, no player has offered us such a larger-than-life view of feet than Shaq. Now an NBA analyst on TNT, O’Neal continues to amaze with the sheer size of his feet and just how much bigger a size 22 shoe looks than the typical sneaker. With the average NBA basketball player offering a shoe size around 13 or 14, those sizes pale in comparison with the size worn by the iconic center.
The enormity of O’Neal’s feet came onto the sneaker scene when Reebok signed the baller in 1992. Through this partnership, he launched a series of sneakers, including the popular Reebok Shaq Attaq. Reebok created multiple versions and colors of the signature line, even putting the Reebok Pump technology into the Shaq Attaq franchise.
More recently, the retired baller had success with a budget version of his own sneaker.
Now, he has his eyes set back on Reebok. As Authentic Brands Group’s second-largest shareholder — after he sold the rights to his namesake brand in 2015 to ABG — O’Neal has helped the company target brands with strong turnaround potential, including Reebok. In the case of the athletic brand, the former athlete was adamant that the company make a competitive offer to acquire the footwear label from Adidas, which it did this August in a $2.5 million deal.
These days, Shaq says he prefers to wear slip-on sneakers rather than lace ups.
“I’d rather do that than have to bend down and tie my shoe. My workout consists of just cardio and lifting weights. No more running, no more jumping. I’m more of a slip-on guy,” said.
Watch Shaq talk about his shoes below:
Shaq Helping a Teen With Size 23 Feet
When O’Neal learned about a story about one family’s similar quest to find shoes for their 14-year-old son with size 23 feet, he decided to help.
According to USA Today Network, the 14-year-old in question, Eric Kilburn Jr., answered his phone in March to a shocking surprise. O’Neal had heard about the teen’s shoe predicament and sympathized. When the former NBA player was younger, his own mother had difficulty finding footwear for the towering O’Neal.
Kilburn Jr. had his struggle solved when the size 7-foot-1 former basketball player reached out to the family to provide five pairs of size 22 Reeboks originally made for O’Neal.
The now 51-year-old wasn’t the only one who took notice; retail companies Puma and Under Armour reached out to the teen and his family to create custom shoes.
The philanthropic former NBA star also informed the Kilburn family of a cobbler who can create up to size 26 dress shoes for the teen if he ever needs a pair. O’Neal went one step further and gave the 14-year-old his number to call him if Kilburn Jr. ever needed anything.
Shaq x Reebok
In October, O’Neal was announced as the president of Reebok Basketball, a newly created role that will work on Reebok’s commitment to performance basketball.
“This is not a consulting role. This is not a figurehead announcement where we create a cool title and then he goes away and calls me once in a while,” Reebok CEO Todd Krinsky told FN. “He’s committed to how we reenter the basketball community, everything from product to marketing to events. He’s got a sharp point of view on things, but he’s also very collaborative and he’s open minded on how we can reenter.”
O’Neal, who signed with Reebok in 1992 and released signature shoes such as the Shaq Attaq and Shaqnosis, had an important part in the Authentic Brands Group acquisition of Reebok in August 2021.
Footwear Collaborations
In addition to his philanthropic efforts to bring accessible footwear to those who struggle to find a shoe in their size, O’Neal has participated in a number of whimsical brand collaborations that celebrate his iconized size 22 shoe. Most recently, the former basketball star was the subject of Pepsi’s most recent footwear release. In celebration of the pair’s 32-year partnership, Pepsi teamed up with O’Neal and the Shoe Surgeon to create a limited edition soda-inspired Reebok “Sneak’er” using a few pairs of the athlete’s personal size 22 Reebok Shaq Attaq’s.
The sneaker, designed with a black midsole and electric blue laces, featured Pepsi-branded insoles, blue paint splatter detailing on the outsoles and Pepsi’s red and white Globe icon in place of the brand’s traditional “Pump” logo on the tongue. In addition to the shoe’s Pepsi-themed colorway and branded adornments, the sneaker was crafted with an electric blue leather chamber fit to hold a Pepsi Mini can.
For a short period in February of this year, fans of the athlete and consumers of the popular soda brand had the opportunity to get their hands on one of the 22 pairs of custom sneakers by posting a photo or video on social media displaying their love of Pepsi Minis along with the hashtags #PepsiMinis and #Sweepstakes.
“This is a natural progression for Shaquille, to not just be an athlete who is endorsed but to be someone whose seat at the table is more powerful than arguably anybody’s at Reebok, to be honest,” said Authentic President and Chief Marketing Officer, Nick Woodhouse, in an earlier statement to FN.
