‘A dream come true’: Behind Angel Reese’s journey to her debut Reebok signature sneakers

All eyes are always on Angel Reese.

On court, every rebound. On social media, every post. Outside, every appearance. And, especially, every time the 23-year-old Chicago Sky star speaks her mind. Hate or love her, Reese has welcomed the attention in her first two WNBA seasons.

Reebok initially recognized the 6-foot-3 forward’s unique ability to be the center of conversation, yet handle the noise that comes with it. That was in 2023, when the Boston-based company made Reese the brand’s first athlete signing ahead of returning to designing performance basketball footwear for the first time in nearly a decade.

Less than two years later, her debut signature shoe, the Reebok Angel Reese 1, officially hit retail on Sept. 18 for $120 a pair. It made Reese the 15th player in the WNBA’s 29-year history to release her own sneaker.

“Launching my first-ever signature shoe with Reebok is a dream come true,” Reese told Andscape in an exclusive statement.

Within hours, the shoe sold out on Reebok’s website — in all 24 sizes of all three launch colorways. Fresh off her second season, Reese notably becomes the fastest player in exactly two decades to receive her own sneaker.

“The Angel Reese 1 represents years of hard work, determination and perseverance — not just from me, but from my fans and the incredible team around me,” Reese said. “I want the Angel Reese 1 to deliver confidence with every step, whether you’re competing on the court or making your mark off of it.”

Reese’s Reebok AR1 rolls out 30 years after Sheryl Swoopes became the first women’s basketball player to receive a signature shoe. The pioneering Nike Air Swoopes sneakers were released in October 1995.

Reese is also just the second WNBA player in Reebok’s nearly 70-year history to earn the signature treatment, joining women’s basketball legend and current ESPN broadcaster Rebecca Lobo. Her debut shoe, The Lobo, dropped during the WNBA’s inaugural 1997 season, ahead of her final model, the Lobo II, landing in spring 1998.

So, Reebok hadn’t designed a performance signature sneaker for a women’s basketball player in nearly three decades. It delivered its most recent signature shoe to former NBA star John Wall in 2012. That was until the brand set its sights on Reese, ultimately finding Reebok Basketball’s next signature headliner.

“The launch of the Angel Reese 1 is a major milestone for Reebok, marking the first signature shoe since our return to performance basketball,” Todd Krinsky, Reebok’s CEO and president, told Andscape. “Not only are we proud to build upon our basketball franchise in our new era, but to do so with Angel — and to support and uplift an incredible female athlete — makes it even more special.”

The AR1 arrives impressively less than a full year after Reese signed a multiyear contract extension with Reebok last October. It guaranteed the launch of her own signature shoe, which was initially announced by the brand to be unveiled in 2026.

Yet, behind the scenes, Reebok made preparations to significantly streamline the footwear industry standard 18-to-24-month timeline to design and launch a signature shoe. The brand really couldn’t resist an earlier release of the Angel Reese 1, especially after Reese’s historic 2024 WNBA rookie season, during which she set seven all-time records.

That season was also highlighted by the most total rebounds (446) and the highest rebounding average (13.1) in a single season, and she reached several rookie and Chicago Sky franchise milestones.

Three weeks into her second WNBA season this year, Reese became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 500 points and 500 rebounds in a career.

“We knew Angel would get a shoe eventually.” Jide Osifeso, Reebok Head of Basketball, told Andscape. “But she was so important to the game and such a force at the very onset of her pro career that we fast-tracked the process.”

By early July, about 11 months after presenting initial renderings for the shoe’s design, Reebok delivered a finalized version of the Angel Reese 1. The brand unveiled it just days after Reese was named a 2025 WNBA All-Star for the second consecutive season.

During the All-Star Game on July 19 in Indianapolis, Reese took the court in her signature AR1 for the first time in a bright, paradise pink edition called “Mebounds” — one of the shoe’s three launch colorways. It was inspired by a term coined online that went viral as joking criticism that many of her offensive rebounds come from her own missed shots.

So, Reese turned trolling into a trademark, which she officially filed before working with Reebok to use the term as the name of the lead colorway for the Angel Reese 1. It was a masterclass in personal branding and marketing, affirming that Reebok struck gold with Reese.

“Angel is redefining sport culture and what it means to be a female athlete today,” Osifeso told Andscape. “We wanted to applaud that with a signature shoe.”

Midway through her second WNBA season, Reese began lacing up her debut shoe, joining the New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart (Puma) and Sabrina Ionescu (Nike), as well as Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson (Nike), as the only four active signature headliners in the WNBA. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is expected to receive her first Nike signature shoe in 2026.

Yet none of the other WNBA signature headliners received their debut shoes as fast as Reese. In fact, Reese became the fastest player to get her own shoe in exactly 20 years, since Diana Taurasi debuted her Nike Air Taurasi sneaker in the 2005 WNBA season. Comparatively, the Puma Stewie arrived in 2022, Stewart’s seventh season; the Nike Sabrina in 2023, Ionecesu’s fourth season; and the Nike A’One earlier this year, Wilson’s eighth season.

“I’m so proud that Reebok has chosen to re-enter basketball and our first signature shoe is for a woman — that we are a part of and in support of the growth of the women’s game,” Michael Hesterberg, Reebok’s design director for basketball, told Andscape. “It’s been a huge privilege to work with Angel to design the Angel Reese 1.”

The journey to Reese’s debut shoe began as the brainchild of basketball legend and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, the first signature headliner in Reebok history.

In October 2023, O’Neal stepped into an unprecedented role as president of Reebok Basketball, charged with leading the brand’s revival in the sport. First order of business was naming his vice president, fellow Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, Reebok’s most culturally beloved and prolific signature headliner.

Days after O’Neal and Iverson took over, Reebok officially announced Reese, then a reigning NCAA champion entering her senior season at Louisiana State University, as the debut signing of the brand’s return to basketball. Reese signed a multiyear NIL (name, image and likeness) footwear and apparel endorsement deal that would extend into her WNBA career.

Krinsky recalled the moment O’Neal first shared he wanted Reese to join Reebok Basketball. 

“Shaq always has big, bold ideas, and signing Angel Reese was no exception,” Krinsky told Andscape. “For our return to basketball, we needed something unique and special — adding Angel to our roster was just that.”

Reese spoke candidly about her opportunity to be a part of Reebok’s resurgence in Netflix’s Power Moves with Shaquille O’Neal, a six-part docuseries released in early June. It chronicles the brand’s strategy and process behind both building a roster of athletes, recruited by O’Neal and Iverson, as well as designing new performance basketball footwear.

“Signing with Reebok completely changed my life,” Reese said in Power Moves. “Obviously, Shaq and A.I. did a great job of bringing Reebok into the light. On the women’s side … I wanted to be one of the first.”

Yet, in a May 2024 video of Reese — shared on X before acclimating more than 3,000 reposts, 20,000 likes and 11 million views — the then-incoming WNBA rookie, weeks ahead of her pro debut, got even more real about her decision to go against the grain and take a chance on Reebok.

“I wanted to be a priority ’cause I could have signed easily with Nike. I could easily sign with Jordan,” Reese said. “But everybody’s doing that. I don’t like doing what everybody does. I like to do the complete opposite. I’m bringing Reebok back.”

That’s right. Remember, she told us. 

Since the beginning, in nearly every interview and post discussing her landmark Reebok partnership, Reese has been resolute that she wanted to be the one to return the brand to the masses. Yet to do so, she needed new kicks to conquer the court.

Reese began her rookie season lacing up the Reebok Iverson Solution, an affordable, budget-friendly model that was released in early 2022 as a final chapter to Iverson’s original signature line launched in 1996 with the Reebok Question. It’s now regarded as the most successful shoe in brand history.

Enter the Reebok Engine A, a silhouette that became the brand’s first newly designed performance basketball shoe since the 2015 release of the Reebok ZPump Rise. Reebok’s rollout plans for the new shoe embodied the difference Reese sought when she chose the brand over its bigger rivals.

“We chose to have Angel debut the Engine A on court her rookie season, not only to show our commitment to her, but to show the world that Reebok does things differently,” Krinsky told Andscape. “We could’ve announced the Engine A in a multitude of traditional ways, but instead we wanted to champion Angel, a female rookie who was making waves both on and off the court.”

As Reebok finalized production of the new silhouette, Reese flew to the brand’s Boston headquarters to meet with O’Neal, who had a specific request for his star signing and the Engine A.

“In a perfect world, I would like you to debut them against Caitlin Clark,” O’Neal told Reese, in a moment that’s captured in Power Moves. Without hesitation, Reese agreed.

The Engine A was officially ready for the Aug. 30, 2024, matchup in Chicago between Clark’s Fever and Reese’s Sky. And, in what became billed as the most expensive game ticket price in WNBA history, Reese debuted Reebok’s first performance basketball shoe in nearly a decade. Though the Sky lost 100-81, Reese had 10 points and 11 rebounds, breaking the WNBA’s all-time record for most double-doubles by a rookie.

“I sat courtside with Shaq for the game, and the response to Angel’s debut of the Engine A was incredible,” Krinsky told Andscape. “You could feel the energy, fans were spotting the shoe out, and the buzz online and on social media was incredible. We knew we had something special then and couldn’t wait to continue to build Reebok Basketball with Angel.”

Reese had sold Krinsky, a longtime top Reebok executive who has worked at the brand since the early 1990s. He draws direct comparisons between Reese and both O’Neal and Iverson.

“Angel embodies all the key qualities of Reebok Basketball legends — unapologetic and outspoken, hardworking and culture-driving,” Krinsky told Andscape. “Angel has shattered glass ceilings and continues to evolve the sports world to new heights — and that’s certainly deserving of a signature shoe.”

The night before Reese debuted the Engine A, Reebok hosted a private dinner in Chicago for the WNBA star. Among a collection of the brand’s executives and design team for the first time, Reese was shown her signature logo and sketches of what would become the Reebok Angel Reese 1. That moment marked the official start of the design process for Reese’s debut signature shoe, and O’Neal assured the significance wasn’t lost upon her.

“You’re the one,” O’Neal told Reese. “There’s nobody bigger than you at Reebok.”

Like her unyielding insistence on bringing Reebok back, Reese possessed a determined vision for her first shoe.

“Angel was adamant on creating a signature shoe that was both high performing and stylish,” Hesterberg told Andscape. “From day one, working with her has been a true collaboration. She brought energy, excitement and a ton of ideas to design meetings.

“Angel gravitated to the idea of an angel wing representing both herself and the attitude and multidimensionality of her,” Hesterberg continued. “As a person and a player, at first it felt on the nose, but then you start to explore how the shape feels, how it can be supportive, and light, but also powerful and beautiful. There ended up being a lot of inspiration to draw from.”

Of course, Reese got her angel wings on the AR1. The shoe’s marquee design detail is an exoskeleton upper, crafted to resemble a wing on each shoe, blending beautifully with the two tones of pink used in the design of the “Mebounds” colorway that Reese debuted on court in the WNBA All-Star Game. Another one of Reese’s favorite Easter eggs to discover is “AR” etched on outsoles, so when people kick up their feet in the shoes, others see her initials.

“It was my hope that the Angel Reese 1 has more of her personality than any other players’ signature shoe in the WNBA,” Hesterberg told Andscape. “That it can be bold, cute, gritty, girly, sophisticated, strong, elegant. Any and all the things that she wants to share with the world.”

In July, Reebok officially announced the AR1, on the same day that she was unveiled as the cover athlete for the WNBA edition of NBA 2K26 — and her digital avatar had her debut signature shoes laced on her feet in the video game’s illustration. Yet the shoe’s announcement arrived without a release date, after initially being reported to be scheduled for 2026. According to Krinsky, there’s really only one reason Reebok moved up the release a year.

“The fans,” Krinsky told Andscape. “The excitement for the Angel Reese 1 launch has been huge, and we wanted to get it to fans as soon as possible.”

The Reebok Angel Reese 1 dropped on Sept. 18, almost two years after Reese first joined the brand on an NIL deal, nearly 11 months after she signed a signature contract extension, and about 60 days after she took the court in the shoe for the first time. All things considered, that’s how fast Reese got her own shoe, which Reebok released with a campaign titled “Fuel.” In a 15-second social spot, Reese boards an L train in Chicago, wearing the AR1 as she narrates:

“They call it the hate train. I call it the warmup. Every stop, more opinions, more pressure, more reasons why I’m not supposed to be here. But I show up. Not for them — for the work. This is the Angel Reese 1 by Reebok.”

She did it. Angel Reese brought Reebok back — while everyone’s been watching.

“We began our return to sport with the signing of Angel, and now we’re launching our first signature shoe with her just two years into her pro career,” Osifeso told Andscape. “She has surpassed even our most ambitious hopes for her. The moment couldn’t be more important for us.”

Hours after AR1 sold out, Reese took to X to mark the milestone.

“I’m in full tears right now,” she wrote. “Taking a leap of faith and launching three of my signature shoes at once was a huge risk—but guess what? They all sold out! I’m sooooo THANKFUL & beyond GRATEFUL and just want to thank everyone for the amazing support.

“REEBOK IS BACK!”