That’s because Iverson, the reigning Rookie of the Year, was suspended for the season opener and thus not dressed to trick off on defenders or treat fans to his first game in the team’s new uniforms. Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images He really liked the functionality of DMX, the feel of it, and how it looked on the shoe.”Īround that time, Iverson wasn’t the only one making changes in Philly. ![]() ![]() “He had a ‘whoa’ reaction, just because it was so different. “We made the audible to push DMX and came back to Philly to show him Answer I,” Krinsky said. “There was a lot of hurried development that went on to get the shoe right.”Īmid his Rookie of the Year run, Krinsky and his team tracked down Iverson in the City of Brotherly Love to tease a sample of the upcoming Answer model and get his feedback on both the design and new tech. Reebok was rushed, but the brand still beat the buzzer. “We took cues from the Question like the fast upper and integrated them with Answer, while making the technology as light as possible.” “It was a major shift in the creation and design process,” Krinsky said. While working at an incredibly fast pace may have been a signature for Iverson on the court, it was a challenge for the team at Reebok. We tested it, found it worked well for basketball, and made an audible in the middle of the season to focus on Answer.” “We got the call from management that DMX would be the priority and that we needed Allen wearing it. ![]() “We’d actually started working on a Question 2 during his rookie year,” Krinsky said. Because of this gap, Reebok ran a risk in betting big on Iverson. In the footwear category alone, the Swoosh owned 43% of the space, with the Vector claiming only 16%. “It was the highest guarantee that anyone had ever gotten in shoes.”īased on the bag, even Thompson told AI it was a ‘no-brainer,’ and the contract was set.Īt the time of the deal, Reebok was miles behind Nike in regard to market share. “The deal was $60 million, for 10 years,” Falk told Nick DePaula in 2015. Though the agent had placed Michael Jordan at the Swoosh some 12 years prior, he took Iverson to Reebok, despite Coach Thompson being on the Board of Directors at Nike. Putting on shows across the Big East, inside staff at Reebok became infatuated with the explosive guard who was booming on big men and breaking ankles at ease.Īfter his sophomore season, Iverson declared for the draft and signed with David Falk for representation. Playing point for the Hoyas in the legendary kente-cloth uniforms, Iverson became a breakout star in an epic era for college hoops. The high school standout who had Florida State seeking him to play quarterback and North Carolina calling him to run their hoop squad went from a flooded mailbox to the quiet corridors of a correctional facility.Īfter a story from Tom Brokaw brought national attention to his case, Iverson was let go, with his mother begging Coach John Thompson to give him a second chance. Infamously, Iverson was wrongfully sentenced to time in prison for his role in a bowling alley brawl. Not only did Magic have an NCAA Championship and size to his name, but he was also without the scrutiny that followed the pint-size PG from Hampton, VA. This week, the shoe that accomplished that order returns to retailers. The following fall, the brand had the tough task of topping an all-time debut by making Iverson the company’s franchise player and the face of its new DMX technology. Less talked about but equally important, Allen Iverson’s epic Answer franchise at Reebok will celebrate its quarter-century run in November.īrought to the brand by super-agent David Falk in the spring of 1996, the Georgetown guard changed the trajectory of the company - and the culture of hoops - with his polarizing play and his red-hot Reebok Question. Around that time, LeBron James will launch his 20th signature with Nike and Steph Curry and his aptly named Curry Brand will bring out the 10th model in the shooter’s performance line. This fall, an array of ballers become immortalized as brands through a testament to longevity. Learn how the boy called Bubba Chuck became a $60 million man at Reebok, blazing a trail with his own signature style of speed symbolized in the Reebok Answer I shoe.
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