Shaq Opens Up on Footwear Legacy, Reebok's Future, and Sneaker Gummies

Success is all Shaquille O'Neal knows. The Basketball Hall of Famer dominates every industry he touches with a smile on his face: sports, entertainment, footwear, and now candy. Can you dig it?

Following its launch in 2024, Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies became Hershey's #1 sweets launch of the year, with over 11 million units sold in less than eight months. Now, O'Neal is lacing up for another sweet win — the Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies in sneaker shape.

Crafted to match O'Neal's appetite for bigger bites and bolder flavor, these XL-sized, sneaker-shaped gummies are a tribute to his larger-than-life personality and size 22 shoe. The new lineup features three punchy flavors: mango (orange), lime (green), and strawberry (red).

Sports Illustrated's Kicks On SI spoke with O'Neal about his new sneaker-inspired gummies, legendary footwear history, and what's next for the self-proclaimed "biggest kid in the candy store."

Shaquille O'Neal's sneaker-inspired gummies. — The Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies in sneaker shapes. | Hershey Company

The Shaq-A-Licious Gummies were the #1 sweets debut in 2024. Did you know you had another hit as soon as you tasted them?

That's a great question. The answer is no. I don't really worry about it being a hit; I worry about the likes and the dislikes. If Shaq puts something out, everybody likes it. It's taste-tested for long periods of time before it gets to me. And listen, I'm a gummy guy. I've tasted all the other brands' gummies, so by the time I got to taste the flavors, I knew a lot of people would like them.

The XL Gummies Sneakers are dropping in mango, lime, and strawberry. What made y'all decide on those flavors?

A little bit of market testing and listening to the expertise of the Hershey company. The thing about our group is we never come in and say, 'Do this, do this, and do this.' We will let the brands lead, and we'll just follow.

But again, I'm glad they always get me the options to do my own personal taste test and send me these little top-secret bags. I was like, 'Nope, I don't like that one. I don't like that one.' Then it got to the point where I loved all the flavors and was like, 'All right, we're gonna go with this.' So kudos to the Hershey company for being great teammates.

Will the XL Gummies Sneakers be readily available for Halloween?

The gummy sneakers are available nationwide now, but we do have individual packs from the original Shaq-A-Licious gummies, with my face, ready to go into individual packs for Halloween.

The XL Gummies pay homage to your signature sneakers. Between Reebok and SHAQ Footwear, where do you rank your shoe legacy among the all-time greats?

There's so many... I hate to say this. Me and Jordan are on the same path, and what I mean by that is we're in a league of our own. You know, upstairs market, Jordan rules that market, but I've always ruled the downstairs market.

The downstairs market, meaning the very affordable brands. I'm the biggest name at the best price. So, I'm the Jordan of the downstairs business. I just always wanted to do something good, to do something fun, and to do something affordable for young kids. So, you know, the Reebok brand, SHAQ brand, it's all the same thing.

You hear people that shop upstairs and you have people that shop downstairs, but I'm more of a downstairs guy myself, because Walmart and Target and Kmart and all those stores, those are the stores that I grew up in.

Way before I could afford shoes at Foot Locker, Dick's Sporting Goods, and all that stuff. I had to go to the store where we can get $30, $40, $59 sneakers. So I'm the man when it comes to the downstairs people. I'm the Jordan of the downstairs.

Reebok Basketball is back, thanks to yours and Allen Iverson's leadership over the past two years. Where do you think Reebok Basketball will be in another two years?

The good thing about my pace is I always move in a consistent championship pace. I don't try to rush in and do this or that. I think ABG (Authentic Brands Group) did a masterful job of making me start from the bottom. Because, of course, they could have given me a $50 million budget and said, 'Go and sign this guy.'

But they wanted to see us work, they wanted to see me work, so we're working, and we're looking to sign young players. I think the days of signing all these old players is cool, but it's only a few old players.

And we're finding some exciting young players, people that are exciting, people that have a nice following, and people that we can grow with. Believe it or not, that's what Reebok did with us.

Reebok was very successful when I got there, but they believed in a young guy named Shaq, they believed in another young guy named Allen Iverson, and took us to the top. So, we're going to recreate what we've been doing since 1992.

How big a role do Shareef and Shaqir play for the company and shaping your opinion?

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.

What do you think Angel Reese and Reebok are capable of achieving together?

Her shoes have been sold out. We have sold a lot of her shoes. We weren't nervous on the launch, but we were like 'In we go!' The crazy thing that I didn't even anticipate - you got men wanting her shoe. That's impressive.

I get calls all the time, 'Hey, I need a size 13,' and I'm like 'I don't even think we make that. Let me call.' So, we're going to continue to work with her. The Angel Reese deuce and the Angel Reese 3. And she's young, so we got a long future ahead of us.

You said earlier you were not interested in chasing big fish. Can you give us any hints on who you are scouting? Because everyone trusts Shaq's eye for talent.

The good thing about Reebok, my team is five or six guys with different mentalities. So we all come in, we argue, we fight. 'This guy has potential!' or 'Oh, I've seen this guy play and he's not that great!'

Like, I love this kid, Marcis Ponder. I don't know if you've seen Ponder, but he's a seven-footer out of Miami. He plays in high school like I played when I was a young pro. Real mean, real big.

So, I would definitely love to sign him up. But we just look, we just scout. And if then we're interested, we come and have a conversation with you and your family. If we have the same values, we'll look to make a good deal.

But a lot of these kids be on some different stuff. We met with a kid one time, he wanted $50 million. I was like, 'Well, good luck, and I hope you get it, but I'm not writing that check.'

Last question: You've dominated every industry and helped countless people along the way. What achievement are you most proud of so far?

Just being able to remain a nice guy. People ask me one time, 'What do you want to be remembered for?' Say, Shaq was a nice guy. It doesn't matter how many commercials I've done, how many candies I've sold or how much money I got. Was Shaq a nice guy?

When you talked to him, was he nice? When you met him with your son, Pat Benson, when you and your little man went up to Shaq, did he have people pushing you and your son out the way? Or was Shaq talking to your kid, and they were having a good time, and they were giggling, and Shaq gave your baby a hug, signed his autograph, and took your picture.

That's what I want to be remembered for, nothing else. Because there are a lot of people in my position, and excuse my French, they are (quietly mouths a curse word), and I don't want to be remembered as that.

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