Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has officially released a collection with Reebok, becoming the first rookie from the 2024 WNBA Draft class to launch a product in partnership with an athletic brand. Her collection includes apparel and three pairs of shoes, plus an exclusive pair only available to friends and family.
As of Aug. 23, Reese’s collection is available to the public on the brand’s website and select retailers worldwide.
“She is fantastic and she is a girl’s girl. She loves fashion,” Reebok senior vice president of product Portia Blunt told CBS Sports. “Collaborating with her is a little different than when we collaborate with other athletes because she has such a strong point of view. She knows who she is. She knows what she likes and she wants to bring that to life.
“… She came to work every day ready to design and really contribute to this collection because she really wanted to have her stamp on it as much as possible.”
Reese was going for a feminine yet confident look with her “Unapologetically Angel” signature. The former LSU star chose an icy color palette featuring the colors “Always Blue” and “Silver Chrome.” The apparel includes a bodysuit, a graphic T, a track jacket, a cotton bralette, wide leg pants and a contour crop top.
One of the main highlights is the use of the mantra: “When they sleep on you … tuck them in.” That quote, which is featured on the T-shirt and inside the shoes, was something Reese said while playing at LSU.
“Our team really gravitated toward that. It had a lot of attitude and gravitas,” Blunt said. “It was quintessential to Angel and just kind of how she’s super unapologetic in terms of being who she is. We really wanted to bring that to life and amplify that through the capsule.”
The footwear available to the public includes the Classic Leather, the BB 4000 III and the Premier Road VI — which has the highest price tag of the entire collection at $120. A fun little detail that fits Reese’s personality is a gold crown on top of the second “o” of the brand’s name.
“The crown really came as a nod to her as kind of standing in her own presence and greatness being a queen in her own right,” Blunt said. “We really tried to personify that and share it across with young girls who really look up to her. It’s kind of a nod to always wearing your crown.”
Another pair of shoes is coming out of this collection, but that one is not available to the public. Earlier this week, Reese got her very own version of Allen Iverson’s third signature shoes. The Angel Reese x Reebok Answer III follows a similar color palette as the rest of her collection and features Iverson’s logo with her gold crown.
Iverson is known as one of the most influential figures in NBA history. Reebok feels Reese is doing something similar in the WNBA, and as such considers her a perfect fit.
“Angel is one of those athletes who is one in a million. There are really none like her,” Blunt said. “She really speaks to the brand in that she is a future icon. She is a future legend. We really are anchored in a lot of heritage and history of icons and legends for the brand when you think about Allen Iverson, and when you think about Shaq.
“She really sits up there in that she stands in her own presence, her own authenticity. She is incredibly genuine to who she is. As a brand, we love that.”
Shaquille O’Neal, another former LSU athlete, is a well-known mentor to Reese since her college days. His personal brand has only grown since his time as an NBA player, and he has been vocal about wanting his products to be accessible to everyone.
O’Neal left Reebok for 25 years to do his own thing and sell affordable shoes at Walmart, but he returned to Reebok in October 2023 and became the brand’s president of basketball. Iverson took Reebok basketball’s vice president role, and Reese became the first athlete signed by the brand’s new leadership that same month.
Blunt said although she is not sure how much advice O’Neal gave Reese with this particular project, she wouldn’t be surprised if his personal brand influenced her.
“They are incredibly close. He is an amazing person who gives amazing advice,” Blunt said. “I can only imagine that he has been guiding her in these ways where you start to see the moves that she is making, the decisions that she is making. She’s got a pretty amazing and strong team, and Shaq is one of them.”
Similar to O’Neal, Reese was clear she wanted her collection to be “accessible” and “wearable” for everyone, not just a select few.
“She knows her fans are on all places of the spectrum and she wanted to make sure the products with her likeness, her name on it, are something people will be able to afford,” Blunt said. “We wanted to take that to heart.”
A lot of thought went into this first collection, but Reebok said this is only the beginning.
“This is a first of of many coming along the way,” Blunt said. “You’ll be able to see her telling amazing stories, really seeing her perspective and evolving as her collections evolve.”
Reese’s collection with Reebok was a huge achievement, but she is constantly making business moves. Also this week, Reese released a collection with the candy Reese’s Pieces — which doubles as the nickname her fans use for themselves.
Reese has been good at capitalizing on the hype around her while also handling her business on the court. She is currently leading the league in rebounds per game and is on her way to making history, as she’s chasing Tina Charles’ rookie record of 398 rebounds and Sylvia Fowles’ all-time single-season mark of 404 boards.
Reese is one of the strongest candidates to with Rookie of the Year, along with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark. The former Iowa star Clark is a Nike athlete and has not yet released a collection. However, the brand has done huge advertising for her, including releasing billboards when she broke the NCAA Division I all-time scoring record.
Clark might not have her own apparel yet, but she has made some cool deals. Earlier this year, she signed an exclusive partnership with Panini America and got her own trading card set highlighting major moments from her basketball career.
