For years, Kyrie Irving’s signature sneaker line with Nike has been one of the brand’s most consistent and most popular offerings. The design has changed minimally in recent years, as Irving found a midtop fit that worked and stuck with it, making marginal changes to the aesthetics while maintaining a similar fit and feel — with the biggest departures coming in variants like the Low, Flytrap, and Infinity series.
However, that partnership will not continue any further after the two sides have parted ways following Nike suspending its sponsorship of Irving earlier this year after Kyrie’s tweet linking to an antisemitic film and his subsequent comments that failed to convey an actual apology. While Irving has completed the steps asked of him by the Nets to return to the floor, the relationship with Nike was apparently not similarly fixed and on Monday it was confirmed by Shams Charania that the two sides had “parted ways” and Irving was no longer a Nike athlete.
Kyrie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete, Nike spokesperson says. The sides have parted ways one month after Nike suspended its relationship with the Nets star. Irving has one of most popular signatures shoes in the NBA and is now a sneaker free agent.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 5, 2022
It isn’t a huge surprise, especially when you consider the relationship between Irving and the sneaker giant had been rocky for some time, well before Irving’s tweets and commentary got him in hot water. Irving called the upcoming Kyrie 8s “trash” a year ago when he was testing them, creating an initial rift and putting his latest release on the backburner for some time with the 8s ultimately never releasing after Nike suspended its relationship with him last month.
Now he has officially split from his largest brand partnership and it remains to be seen if any other shoe company will want to work with him at this point.