Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving recently inked a contract with Chinese sportswear brand ANTA and will become one of their signature athletes, along with becoming the Chief Creative Officer for the brand and expanding his ability to create freely. The five-year deal comes at the heels of his Nike divorce as Irving joins several other NBA stars like Klay Thompson, Alex Caruso, and Gordon Hayward in ANTA's presence within the NBA.

The partnership was announced on ANTA's Instagram page last week, to which Kyrie Irving was seen testing out several models of the brands basketball line. ANTA focuses on cutting-edge performance and creating a basketball shoe molded to the player. It's clear Kyrie appreciated their attention to detail as he's seen signing the contract and getting the demo for a few models.

Kyrie Irving was seen wearing the ANTA Shock Wave 5, so it's expected that it will be his go-to model for the start of the season. The shoe is crafted with extreme attention to detail and each element is focused on optimizing performance. It's a very sleek shoe with a low-top design. The design is inspired by animals and is supposed to be brutal by nature.

The hallmark of the shoes is the “shock wave” technology in the soles. Made from carbon fiber plates, the soles are meant to absorb all impact and provide a bounce when changing directions and making hard cuts. They have plastic plates to keep the heel in place and feature a knit upper that molds to each unique foot. This type of design works perfectly for Kyrie Irving's style of play.

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With Irving serving as the Chief Creative Officer, it's expected that he'll come out wearing a multitude of colorways in the Shock Wave 5. He's also likely to try some other models out and see which provides him with the best performance. Don't be surprised if Kyrie's kicks on the court inspire other NBA players to follow him and join the emerging sportswear brand.

While there's no official word of a signature sneaker for Kyrie, rumors are that he will have his own signature model by 2024. The name and silhouette is yet to be known, but it's definite that Kyrie will have full-control of what he's wearing on his feet next season. The signing marks a huge accomplishment for ANTA and it's exciting to see the impact they'll make in the NBA this year.

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