Former NBA star John Wall reflected on his decision to sign a five-year, $25 million endorsement deal with Reebok early in his career, explaining how an injury eventually made him question the basketball shoes he was wearing.
Wall, who entered the NBA as the first overall pick in the 2010 draft, said the financial offer was difficult to turn down at just 19 years old.
“When they come with five year, $25 million at 19, you signing that paper…”
The former Washington Wizards guard explained that he had originally been expected to join Adidas, which had acquired Reebok and was attempting to rebuild the brand’s presence in basketball.
According to Wall, the company wanted to recreate some of the popularity Reebok had enjoyed during Allen Iverson’s career.
“But that’s what it boiled down to really, in reality. A lot of people don’t know Adidas had bought Reebok at the time. So they was trying, I really supposed to go with Adidas, but they was trying to build the Reebok culture back up, kind of like AI had it. And it was just a ZigTech wave with the running at the time, so they put it as a basketball shoe.”
Wall explained that Reebok’s ZigTech technology had initially gained attention through running shoes before being incorporated into basketball footwear.
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However, his confidence in the shoes changed after he suffered a significant foot injury during a game against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls.
“And that’s the first time I really had a serious injury. We was playing Derrick Rose and them, and he dribbled towards me and I was planting it, took a contested shot, and I sprained my foot, Lisfranc injury. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I don’t think these it. I don’t think these going to work.’”
