Decades ago, Shaquille O’Neal created his own brand to provide affordable shoes and compete with the Michael Jordan brand. Now, his son, Shareef, is taking the legacy forward after quitting Reebok and the NBA dream. The only focus remains to upscale the family brand.

On the Kidd & Dre Podcast, basketball player and creative entrepreneur Shareef O’Neal shared his motivation to join the SHAQ brand. “I actively help. Last major thing we did during Christmas, we gave like 5,000 pairs of SHAQ shoes. My dad’s always been like that. That’s kind of why I wanted to work with the SHAQ brand shoes, because it’s the more affordable pricing for things, and there’s not a lot of people in the world who can afford these $200, $300 Jordans.

So, my job was to, you know, make those $30, $40 shoes look cool and acceptable. The kids who don’t have the money to afford it aren’t going to school, getting made fun of because of their shoes and their clothes. So, that’s why I wanted to help with SHAQ .”

Shareef is officially the creative director of the SHAQ brand after he spent a year working closely with Reebok. At Reebok, he convinced Shaq that kids don’t wear high-tops anymore. That was one of the incidents O’Neal realized his son was built for this job. The 26-year-old closely monitored Reebok by Angel Reese and the Reebok Engine A’s progress before leaving the brand to try for the Sacramento Kings.

Even though Shaquille O’Neal did not like this move, he did not stop his son. The dream of the NBA failed as the Kings waived Shareef, but his father had another plan ready. Being impressed by his skills at Reebok, Shaq offered his son the role at his own brand, which he is thriving at. Now Shareef is creating shoes to compete with the $6.6 billion worth (per Forbes as of 2023) Jordan Brand.

Shaquille O’Neal announces his son’s return

In 1998, O’Neal walked away from Reebok’s $40 million deal because a mother confronted him for selling overpriced sneakers. That led to him launching his own brand where sneakers aren’t more than $40. This decision worked like magic as they sold 100 million pairs of his sneakers through Walmart and Lowe’s.

To keep the legacy alive, Shareef is now part of the same brand. “Well, Sharif is now at the SHAQ Brand and I’m letting him do what he do. I wouldn’t say we’re having a rift, but he’s just doing something that makes me proud. He said, ‘Dad, you’re old, and your way is old, let me show you.’ So, he’s now working at the SHAQ Brand. I’m gonna let him do his thing.”

Battling injury concerns and studying the market, Shareef has now successfully transitioned to the SHAQ brand. With Shaquille O’Neal’s hands-on approach to building a family legacy beyond the court, they are ready to dominate the market.