Allen Iverson co-signs Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff as he receives a historic Reebok deal
Acuff made history with Reebok by becoming the first NCAA men’s athlete to receive a signature shoe with a major U.S. brand while still in college.
Sixers legend Allen Iverson started leaving clues over the weekend after Arkansas’ second-round NCAA Tournament win over High Point.
Iverson, the vice president of basketball for Reebok, dropped a simple caption featuring Arkansas star freshman Darius Acuff: “The next HIM.”
On Tuesday, Acuff, who is averaging 23.3 points and 6.5 assists in 35 games this season, made history with Reebok by becoming the first NCAA men’s athlete to receive a signature shoe with a major U.S. brand while still in college, according to ESPN.
Acuff will also become the first men’s basketball player to have a signature shoe with Reebok since John Wall in 2010.
The deal comes as Iverson, who signed an endorsement and shoe deal 30 years ago with the brand, helps Reebok reestablish its footprint in the American signature sneaker market that has largely been dominated by Nike, Jordan, Adidas, and Under Armour. Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal, Reebok’s basketball president, have been at the forefront of the brand’s reemergence, which was buoyed by signing Chicago Sky star Angel Reese in 2024. The brand released her first signature shoe last fall.
Acuff, who was named SEC player of the year, became the first player to lead the conference in points and assists since Pete Maravich during the 1969-70 season.
Iverson and Acuff’s relationship dates back to last year, when the Arkansas star competed in the Iverson Classic in Hampton, Va., as a senior at the IMG Academy. Acuff earned MVP honors after scoring a game-high 32 points with 11 assists. Iverson and O’Neal detailed last summer in their docuseries, Power Moves With Shaquille O’Neal, that they were looking to connect with the top high school players to build a relationship with them before they got to college.
Acuff and Arkansas, the fourth seed out of the West bracket in the NCAA Tournament, will face top-seeded Arizona on Thursday (9:45 p.m., CBS).