How the Twilight Zone Inspired Shaq's Reebok Sneakers

The Reebok Shaqnosis basketball sneaker has an eerie origin story.

Not many former professional athletes can transition to their second career as smoothly as Shaquille O'Neal. Scratch that. Not many people on this planet can dominate one industry and then match that level of production again.

For the vast majority of his NBA career, O'Neal owned the paint. During an era of many great centers, the Big Diesel roamed the court with supremacy. Tearing down backboards and demoralizing opponents for sport.

Ever wonder how the Shaqnosis was created? @SHAQ gives us the inside scoop on the inspiration behind the design 🌀 pic.twitter.com/2duweIi8Pc

— Reebok (@Reebok) July 14, 2023

Throughout much of the 1990s, O'Neal was the face of Reebok Basketball. The brand continues to work with O'Neal on retro releases of his old-school sneakers. On Friday, Reebok shared a video of O'Neal explaining the inspiration for his fifth signature sneaker.

O'Neal explained that the design idea for the Reebok Shaqnosis came to him while he was half-asleep watching television. That is when the opening sequence of The Twilight Zone appeared on his screen, and the eerie spiral sparked the idea for the shoe's upper graphic.

Reebok Shaqnosis

Shawn Kemp defends Shaquille O'Neal / © RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

The Reebok Shaqnosis was O'Neal's fifth signature sneaker with Reebok and an emphatic repudiation of the fallacy that post players couldn't market themselves to the general public.

O'Neal's signature sneaker line remains one of the most popular retro lines to date. Fans can still shop many of O'Neal's retro shoes on the Reebok website, which regularly brings back fan-favorite models.

With the 21st century quickly approaching, the 1990s were a time of creativity and imagination. Reebok embodied those ethos in its hoop shoes, and the designs still stand up to this day. Luckily for sneakerheads and hoop historians, O'Neal continues to drop gems like he used to drop defenders.

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