NBA Icon Allen Iverson on How He Was Reebok’s ‘Major Headache’ in the ’90s, Remembers the Decade’s Special Shoes With The Shoe Surgeon

Peter Verry
·7 min read
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Allen Iverson wore some of the best signature basketball shoes of all time during his NBA days. Although long retired, the hoops icon’s name remains attached to eye-catching Reebok sneakers.

Wednesday night from the fine dining Halifax restaurant in Hoboken, N.J., Iverson — the newly appointed VP of Reebok Basketball — made an appearance at a DraftKings event alongside Dominic “The Shoe Surgeon” Ciambrone. The event was held to reveal the “Day 1” sneaker, a reimagined iteration of the Reebok Club C 85.

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The look was executed in premium white tumbled leather with hints of red, which was designed to resemble Iverson’s first signature sneaker, the Reebok Question Mid. Highlights of the custom sneaker include Iverson career highlights on the insoles, gold Shoe Surgeon and DraftKings logos on the top part of the tongues and both the DraftKings tagline (“The Crown Is Yours”) and Iverson’s quote (“Play Every Game Like It’s Your Last”) on the insides of the tongues.

DraftKings described as “a one-of-a-kind lifestyle sneaker project that pays homage to Iverson’s storied career and ’90s basketball culture.”

The Shoe Surgeon, DraftKings, Reebok, Allen Iverson
The Shoe Surgeon x DraftKings x Reebok “Day 1” sneaker.Courtesy of DraftKings

This sneaker is not for sale, however DraftKings is giving fans of both basketball and Iverson a chance to win a pair through special giveaway opportunities. (Details of the giveaways will be detailed on Draftkings.com/iverson.)

During the event, Iverson and the Shoe Surgeon spoke with FN and shared their thoughts on what made ’90s basketball culture special.

The Allen Iverson signature shoe line with Reebok is deep. What is your favorite of all time?

Shoe Surgeon: “The first one, [the Reebok Question], because of what it did for the culture. And in now his new role [at Reebok], he can continue that dynasty and keep pushing his brand forward. But for him to have that first one, it was a game-changer.”

Allen Iverson: “It’s the Question, by far. I’ll tell you some real s**t. When I saw the shoe, there was nothing that I said as far as making changes. I never put no changes to the shoe, and let me tell you why. It was my childhood dream to have my own shoe. I didn’t give a f**k if they brought a Timberland and put a Reebok sign on it, I was going to love it.” (laughs)

If you’d had access to someone like the Shoe Surgeon during your playing days, what would you have asked him to create for you?

AI: “Trouble. Trouble in the sense of it mattered me so much. I had a guy who sat in courtside seats every game, swear to God on my life, and every game he’d be like, ‘Hey AI, I see you got red and whites on.’ Next game, ‘OK AI, I see you with the black joints on.’ He was on it. Guys nowadays wear a color [of sneakers] that’s not the color of the uniform. To each his own, but that was never me. I’ve never seen Superman not have on red, yellow, blue, you know what I mean? Spider-Man got his color, Batman is black, gold. You understand? To me, that’s what a superhero [wears]. My whole thing was always Mike [Jordan] and the way he put his thing together. That’s how I was taught. If I played in this era right now, there’s no way that I’d have a uniform on and my kicks didn’t match.”

SS: “You’d change up the materials, probably?”

AI: “[Dominic] would have made people so mad because he would let me be as fancy as I wanted to be and as flamboyant as I wanted to be with the style. I could just imagine him with different leathers, different suedes, different patent leather. I just could imagine me and him brainstorming with each other, being like, ‘Yo, what can we do to f**k the young heads up?’ Have the young kids like, ‘Yo, look at Iverson’s joints tonight. You see the joints Iverson had on last night?’ I could see me and him having those conversations.”

What would the Shoe Surgeon have created for Allen during his playing days?

SS: “It was such a different time. He already had the dope, so it would be material flips. It would be bringing higher fashion, kind of like what he’s wearing [at the DraftKings event] right now, bringing the higher fashion, more elevated materials and putting that on his feet during a game. I love making something that not only looks good but is actually functional. Have both of those worlds collide, that’s what we would have been doing.”

What made ’90s basketball culture and the shoes of that era special?

SS: “Like he said, you had to wear a uniform. Nowadays, I’m watching a game right now and you can see this guy wearing bright green shoes. It doesn’t make sense. The different designs of the sneakers were starting to show out, that’s why his shoes were what they were. It was an original basketball sneaker, there was nothing comparable. You had Jordans, you had Iversons, Converse was doing some stuff. Everyone was creating something unique with new designs. But I want to know what it was like to be in an office or even on a phone call when he and the designer were talking about shoes.”

AI: “I was a major headache (laughs). NBC games, TNT games, I would call [Reebok] a couple days before, like, ‘I want this style, I want this toe to be this color,’ and they were like, ‘Damn, Chuck. You’re not even going to give us two days?’ I always felt like when you had on something crazy that you will go crazy, you know what I’m saying? Just think, if you were going out on a date with somebody growing up, your outfit meant everything to help your confidence.”

What impact has AI’s Reebok signature shoes had on you as both a sneaker fan and as a creator?

SS: “When you put out a sneaker and it becomes popular because of the man and the design, it pushes me as a maker and a creator. At the end of the day, everything that I touch is a canvas; it’s already an art piece. How do I flip it in my interpretation? To see what he did with the sneakers, it makes you think about how to continue to design something that’s also something you can play in. That’s very difficult to do.”

AI, what do you hope to accomplish as VP of Reebok Basketball?

AI: “To have a forever-lasting print on who we are as Reebok. When it goes bad, when it goes good, I want to be that guy that you say you did a good job or you did a bad job. I know my style, what my style is and what I can bring as far as what’s dope, so I don’t mind the criticism that may come with it. Ultimately, I can throw it on [Shaquille O’Neal] if I wanted to because he has the last say-so (laughs). I know with the love and respect that he has for me and the love and respect that I have for him that we’ll be great.”

What has been the highlight of your time with Reebok over the years?

AI: “Longevity. We still here. It started in ’96 and we still here. When I signed that lifetime contract, that’s exactly what it is. With the new ownership [Authentic Brands Group] coming in, we picked right back up, hit the ground running. I love my people there, I love the way they treat me. I love our relationship and how it’s developed and gotten better.”

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