Kyrie Irving has accomplished no shortage of impressive feats on the basketball court. He is an NBA champion, 10-time All-Star, and former Rookie of the Year Award winner. Irving made more history on Tuesday, however, as it was announced that he signed his father Drederick Irving to his ANTA shoe line. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, this is the first time a professional sports athlete has signed their father to a shoe deal.

Irving shared the following reaction on X (formerly Twitter) after Charania broke the news:

Irving signed with ANTA in 2023 and later launched the ANTA KAI 1, which is his own personal shoe line. Now, the Mavs star is signing his father to the sneaker line.

This is a special moment for the Irving family. Many young basketball players dream about not only reaching the highest level of the sport in the NBA, but also having their own shoe. But being able to sign your dad to the sneaker line as well is an incredible story for both Kyrie and Drederick.

When will the sneakers be available?

Charania provided further updates in reference to when Drederick's shoe will release and also revealed his playing career history.

“Drederick played at Boston University and professionally in Australia. Kyrie signed his dad to an endorsement deal — and the Drederick Irving's will release in Foot Locker stores in September, an industry source said,” Charania wrote on X.

Irving has many loyal fans who will be looking forward to the release of the sneakers in September.

Kyrie Irving set to play Celtics in NBA Finals

Article Continues Below
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) shoots against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half in game six of the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Irving is also focused on preparing to play his former team in the NBA Finals. His career in Boston had its share of ups and downs, but Irving has found a home in Dallas without question.

Kyrie has NBA Finals experience, which is something that will prove to be crucial for this Mavs team. For the majority of the roster, the 2023-24 championship will be their first ever NBA Finals experience.

So is anything different for Irving in this year's NBA Finals compared to his previous Finals experience?

“I'm healthy, man,” Irving said on Monday. “I don't have two screws in my knee going into it. I'm not laboring secretly or I'm not taking any antibiotics that I'm not supposed to or just any pain-killers that I'm not supposed to. That's all part of the sport. But it is an unhealthy relationship to have when you're laboring and you're trying to fix yourself through other mediums that are unnatural. It just feels good to be healthy and to have a solid grounding about myself going into it.

“Just a little bit longer, a little bit longer that we gotta hold onto playing hard and doing the little things in order to get us this championship.”

Irving also expressed a desire to join the legends of the NBA and become a multi-time champion. He's already won one championship, which came in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Kyrie is now four victories away from his second NBA Finals victory.