NBA: Golden State Warriors ’15 key reserve, Marreese Speights signs sneaker deal with Q4 Sports

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Marreese Speights

Marreese Speights, a member of the Golden State Warriors’ 2015 championship team is now part of a new team: Q4 Sports.

A Los Angeles, CA-based sneaker brand, Q4 has been in the sneaker lane for about three years and already boasts New Orleans Pelicans guard, E’Twaun Moore, Detroit Pistons guard, Langston Galloway and Darren Collison of the Indiana Pacers as faces of the brand.

Add Speights to that list: “This is a big step for me,” Marreese Speights tells Scoop B Radio via email.

“To do something different from what everybody else is doing is very cool. Q4 is gonna blow up big and I want to be there when it does!”

Q4 differs from many other startup sneaker brands like Peak, Li-Ning, and Anta because the company doesn’t JUST work with the biggest stars in the game, the company gives anyone who partners, the opportunity to create their own player edition shoes.

Co-founded by Quintin Williams, Q4 partners with players and allows them to directly profit from sales of their player edition sneakers and their merchandise.

“For a kid from Florida who grew up watching superstars promote their brands and me and my friends wearing their shoes and gear, this is amazing for me,” said Speights.

“I really feel like this extends the reach of my brand and puts it in front of people who might not have heard of me before this.  The exposure is amazing.”

A member of the Florida Gators’ National Championship team in 2007, Speights is currently playing basketball in China for the Guangzhou Long-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Selected with the 16th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, the 6’10 big man has also played for the Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.

Speights signed with the Guangzhou Long Lions in July. With former NBA players like Stephon Marbury finding success in both his game and with his burgeoning sneaker brand, Speights sees a similar synergy with Q4.  “Not spending much time overseas, this is huge,” he said.

“It means that a little kid in China could be wearing my shoe. People know my brand “Mo Buckets” in The Bay and in Florida, but to have this opportunity to reach fans around the world, means a lot to me and the brand.”

With a myriad of creative colors and designing possibilities, the world is his oyster. Speights and other wearers of the Q4 brand are into the creative process as much as their fans.

Per their website, Q4 prides themselves on being the underdog. The company’s name is inspired by the 4th Quarter of a basketball game, hence the name, Q4. Having a 4th quarter mentality symbolizes having commitment, passion, purpose, and focus.

Speights knows a thing or two about that. He was a key scorer coming off the bench during the Warriors’ epic 2015 NBA Championship win. “Mo Buckets,” complimented Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and 2015 NBA Finals MVP, Andre Iguodala well.

Worth noting: from a business perspective, those players mentioned have had player edition models with their respective sneaker brands during the course of their careers.

That said, the opportunity to partner with Q4 Sports, a brand that prides itself on being disruptive in what they create for their athlete partners was something that Speights couldn’t pass on. “It’s great,” he said.

“With all the brands out there, players are able to express themselves through the shoes they wear and show more of their personality. It gives everyone a chance to be an individual and rock shoes and gear that say a little something about who they are and what they’re into.  It’s very cool.”

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