When Angel Reese excels, it helps the Chicago Sky. And what more can the team’s ownership ask for? From the launch of her signature shoe to her 2k cover, good news for the Chi-Town Barbie is great news for the Sky. Like the time Shaquille O’Neal arrived in Miami from Los Angeles and made Dwyane Wade into Batman, Shaq’s support to Reese is boosting the team D-Wade is a co-owner of. The entire strategy around his team’s biggest star and a personal inspiration to his daughters is leaving Wade very grateful.

After cheering for Reese when she was announced for the cover of NBA 2K26’s WNBA edition, Dwyane Wade had deeper words on his podcast, The Timeout. This time, he got to celebrate that other big thing the 23-year-old did.

“I love a marketing plan that is timed perfectly.” What is this smart marketing plan? Wade proceeded to describe, “To announce the cover of 2k, but also to have the image of her signature sneaker on the cover, and then to drop her signature sneaker on the same day, to walk into the arena with the signature sneakers over her shoulder like a slam cover… bro…”

He is indeed talking about Angel Reese’s signature shoe dropping on the day of the 2k cover. Following in the footsteps of A’ja Wilson, Reese sported her very own, Angel Reese 1s, on the cover, debuting the design of her first signature shoe. She also wore the same in “Diamond Dust” colorway during Chicago’s 87-76 win over the Dallas Wings last week. For that, Wade says, “Beautiful marketing, Reebok.”

And we know who is to credit for that. If you’ve watched Power Moves on Netflix, you’d know Shaquille O’Neal isn’t just the big walking storefront for Reebok since Authentic Brands Group acquired the home of Shaq Attaq for $2.5 billion in 2022. O’Neal isn’t just a namesake president of the basketball division. He had a hand in every signing, including Reese when she was at LSU.

It was his grand scheme to debut Reebok’s first performance shoe in a decade, the Engine A, at Reese’s last big clash with Caitlin Clark in their rookie season, because of the eyeballs on that game. O’Neal wasn’t afraid to put some pressure on the team to complete the design on a time crunch for this moment. We picture Shaq’s big brain behind putting the next signature design on the NBA 2k cover, and his former teammate is here for it.

Angel Reese lives up to Shaq and Dwyane Wade’s expectations

Angel Reese’s signature shoes will arrive in retail in 2026, while the newest edition of NBA 2k officially drops in September. Over time, the release of her signature collection and her logo have dropped when her hype has been at its peak. Every time Reebok is making a big move, Shaq sets the expectation for Reese, and she exceeds it.

The day her ingenious logo dropped in late May, Sky lost to the Phoenix Mercury 94-89. But Reese made WNBA history to record at least 500 points and 500 rebounds, accomplishing the feat in just 38 games. Even if the team struggled with a 0-4 record that day, her record meant a great promise for Sky.

So Dwyane Wade could confidently say, “Angel Reese, she continues to show y’all that she’s her, and she’s doing big things…just so proud of her, and then you’re watching her game open up… She’s getting even more confident in her performances, her moves, and her attacks.”

He proceeded to applaud Reebok for how they’re taking care of his superstar. “I love the marketing campaign by Reebok: how they had her signature shoe already on the cover, how they released it on the same day, and how she walked in with the shoes over her shoulder like a slam cover.”

D-Wade, who won his first chip in 2006 with Shaq’s boost, attributes the growth in Angel’s confidence on the court to Reebok’s smart moves. With a lot more to come from Reese and Reebok, we can anticipate greater things for Sky as a whole.