’80’s babies and ’90s kids with fond memories of Shaquille O’Neal’s nightly highlights and backboard-shattering dunks have a new reason to be excited — or maybe an old one, with a new twist. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Shaq Attaq, Reebok is re-introducing a remixed version of the NBA Hall of Famer’s most iconic shoe: The Shaq Attaq Modern. Updates of retro kicks with modern materials and tech have proven to be quite popular, and the Shaq Attaq modern is no exception.
The original leather that constituted the upper has been replaced with a woven mesh to help reduce the overall weight of the shoe while keeping the original silhouette intact. A foam compound comprises the collar, with net mesh overlay to provide padding around the ankles, and of course the iconic Pump technology returns for an adjustable fit. Hot melt is used throughout in place of stitching, bringing together the technical lightweight synthetics on the upper. The shoe might look like its prototypical forebear, but it’s built to stand up to rigors of the modern game, which is faster, tougher, and more technically advanced than the days when Shaq Fu was dunking rival centers into oblivion.
As a homage to at least one of Shaq’s many nicknames, The Big Banana, the Shaq Attaq Modern colorway features an allover yellow spark color with a sublimated black stripe down the tongue and toe. The “spark” could also be a nod to one of Shaq’s other aliases, The Big Conductor. The Big Diesel himself visited Reebok Headquarters in Canton, MA recently to test out the shoes on-court in a quick run of pick-up basketball. You can see the pics below.
The Shaq Attaq Modern is now available for $159.99 and is now available at Reebok.com, Finish Line and additional Reebok retailers.
