Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks are doing everything they can to stay alive in the NBA Finals and after falling 0-2 in the series, the Mavs will head back to Dallas hoping to make this a competitive series. Irving has had a massive year with his personal brand and after becoming the face of ANTA Sportswear, Irving has his teammates rocking the newest sneakers in his KAI signature line.

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Kyrie Irving released his ANTA KAI 1 signature sneaker in March 2024 with his debut “Artist on Court” colorway. After much success, the sneakers have gone on to release in a number of new colorways, all paying tribute to important aspects of Irving's life and heritage. For the NBA Finals, Irving debuted his newest ANTA KAI 1 “Twin Flame,” which pays homage to his mother and father first meeting in Boston University before getting together. Irving's father, Drederick, also had a hand in designing the sneakers and conveying the story behind them.

“A lot of sacrificing, a lot of giving, a lot of taking, a lot of believing. This shoe reflects who Kyrie and I are as one.”

The sneakers were designed to show the relationship between Dred Irving and his wife, Elizabeth. As twin flames, the two have been alongside Kyrie Irving throughout his whole journey and subtle details throughout the sneakers indicate such. The colorway features a balance of warm and cool tones, touching on the duality of male and female and how both can come together to create something beautiful.

Kyrie Irving has been rocking these shoes throughout the Finals and it was even more significant that he wore them in Boston, where his parents first met. There's no official word on a release date, but expect these to drop very soon given the timeline of the remaining NBA Finals.

ANTA KAI 1

During Game 2, we also saw a few of Irving's teammates rocking his signature shoes. Center Daniel Gafford laced up the “Enlightened Warrior” colorway of the ANTA KAI 1, one of the first editions released in the sneakers. Gafford recorded 13 points and nine rebounds during the Game 2 loss, but he had a number of key defensive stops and has been a high-percentage option for the Mavericks in the paint.

Derrick Jones Jr. also supported his All-Star teammate with a previous version of his first sneakers with ANTA. Before releasing his signature ANTA KAI 1, Kyrie Irving rocked the Shock Wave 5 for a good portion of the season and released several exclusive colorways. Jones Jr. opted for the “Strength” PE of the Shock Wave 5, an unreleased edition that Irving certainly helped him get his hands on.

With ANTA still being relatively new in the signature sneaker space, it's great to see players like Daniel Gafford and Derrick Jones Jr. supporting Kyrie Irving's line. Kyrie Irving has also been known to have some of the most unique colorways for his signature series, so don't be surprised if we see more players around the league favoring these sneakers during the next NBA season. For now, the Dallas Mavericks will look to defend their home court in Games 3 & 4 and hopefully put the Boston Celtics on some thinner ice.

What do you think of the ANTA Kyrie Irving series? Could this be the next great signature silhouette in the NBA?