Kyrie Irving Signs New Sneaker Deal With Anta

Kyrie Irving is teaming up with the Chinese sneaker company Anta.

Entering this offseason, Kyrie Irving was the biggest basketball free agent and sneaker free agent. However, it appears that Irving has found his next sneaker sponsor. Irving wore the Anta Shock Wave Pro 5 basketball shoes at his annual summer basketball camp.

Anta is a Chinese sports equipment company founded in 1991. The brand currently sponsors seven athletes in the NBA. Most notably, Klay Thompson and Gordon Hayward, who both have signature sneakers with the brand.

While no official announcement has been made, Irving teased the upcoming deal on Instagram Live just over two weeks ago. Irving said, "I will be signing my new shoe deal very, very soon. I won't even call it a shoe deal. I'm about to blow this out the water. I'm so excited about it."

Kyrie Irving wears black Anta shoes / KICKS CREW

While there are still plenty of unanswered questions about Irving's new sneaker deal with Anta, there should be more information on the way throughout the summer. Fans looking to purchase Anta basketball shoes should visit KICKS CREW. The up-and-coming sneaker platform has the widest selection of shoes from all over the world.

Of course, the reason why Irving was in search of a new sneaker sponsor was because of his breakup with Nike. In November 2022, the Brooklyn Nets suspended Irving for eight games due to a social media post and comments deemed antisemitic.

Nike swiftly canceled the launch of Irving's ninth and final signature sneaker (the Nike Kyrie 8) in November 2022 and officially cut ties with the polarizing point guard the following month.

However, the cracks in the two parties' relationship began showing more than a year before Irving's controversial statements. In July 2021, unoffical images of Irving's eighth signature sneaker surfaced online. Irving accused Nike of excluding him from the design process and called the shoe "trash."

The shoe was later renamed the Nike Kyrie Infinity, and Irving wore it during his limited time on the court during the 2021-22 NBA season. In May 2022, ESPN reported that Nike was unlikely to extend Irving's signature shoe deal beyond the 2022-23 NBA season. 

Now that Irving has finalized a footwear deal, his next order of business will be finding a new NBA team. It is sure to be another exciting summer for hoops fans and sneakerheads, so stay locked into FanNation Kicks for all your shoe news.

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