Angel Reese’s expectations for her new signature shoe couldn’t any higher.
Not content for the new line from Reebok to be worn by basketball players, the second-year Chicago Sky power forward instead wants her shoe to be ubiquitous, like those of another Windy City basketball player star.
‘I want people to wear the Angel Reese 1s everywhere and just to be a household name,’ Reese told recently told Elle. ‘Just like how they wear Jordans everywhere.’
Obviously Reese would need a few hundred million in sales if she’s going to approach Michael Jordan’s success in this area. Now a billionaire, his Air Jordan line has been spun off by Nike into its own brand with the six-time NBA Champion as its chairman.
Air Jordan shoes were so sought after that thieves regularly stole them from the feet of victims in the 1980s and 90s. As recently as January, nearly 2,0000 pairs of Air Jordans valued at nearly $500,000 were swiped from a train in Arizona.
Whether or not Reese’s line from Reebok will inspire such extreme behavior is yet to be seen, but fans online are certainly skeptical.
Not content for the new line from Reebok to be worn by basketball players, the second-year Chicago Sky power forward instead wants her shoe to be ubiquitous, she told Elle
Jordan’s impact on sneakers and Chicago leaves Reese with some catching up to do
‘Stop playing,’ wrote one, while several others responded to a X post on the subject by asking her to ‘please stop.’
Several respondents liked the shoes, which come in an array of colors, including pink. While one said they wouldn’t consider the Reese 1 to be the next Air Jordan, they were quick to add the sneakers ‘aren’t bad looking.’
Nike got a very positive response on Instagram, where the brand has been slowly trickling out photos of Reese wearing the shoes. One respondent included the sneakers’ release date: ‘SURPRISE!! September 18 it’s go time.’
But for all the positivity surrounding the Reese 1 release, the WNBA star continued to take criticism for putting herself in the same breath as Jordan.
‘She might be the only person that deserves to be told to shut up and hoop,’ one critic wrote.
Like Jordan before her, Reese is sure to wear her signature shoe during games
The original Air Jordans didn’t have his famed ‘jump man’ logo, which came along later
Another took a more lighthearted approach: ‘I love her ambition but… you know what let me be quiet.’
The sneakers are Reebok’s second signature shoe released for a WNBA player, following a previous model for Rebecca Lobo years earlier.
Reese described the sneakers to Elle as an extension of herself.
‘My personality is me being unapologetically myself — that’s what the shoes are as well,’ Reese told Elle. ‘The versatility of being able to wear the shoes on and off the court was the most important thing to me.’
