For most players, they achieve their lifelong dream the first time that they set foot on an NBA court. After all, being good enough to make it to the NBA is a hurdle that is nearly impossible to overcome. But for the players that are great the realization that they have reached stardom is when they finally get their own signature sneaker.
Having a signature sneaker is a reward that is reserved strictly for the all-time greats. Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James are just a few players to have their own signature shoe. To be one of the names in such an exclusive group puts a player in a different realm of greatness.
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Kyrie Calls His Latest Signature Shoe ‘Trash’
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving got his first signature shoe with Nike in December 2014 and his brand has taken off like a rocket in the sneaker game ever since. Kyrie arguably has one of the best sneaker lines on the market today, and his creative concepts have made his shoes one of the staples of Nike basketball.
While Nike has yet to confirm an official release date for the eighth edition of the Nike Kyrie, we do know that it is scheduled to release later this year. Images of Kyrie’s upcoming shoe recently leaked, and the Nets’ star doesn’t seem pleased with the design.
“I have nothing to do with the design or marketing of the upcoming Kyrie 8,” Irving said under a recent Instagram post via Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson of Bally Sports Network. “IMO these are trash! I have absolutely nothing to do with them! Nike plans to release it without my okay regardless of what I say, so I apologize in advance to all of my sneaker heads and true supporters of the #KAI11 brand.”
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Kyrie Provides Clean Water for a Village in Need
Before Irving’s public dispute with Nike this week, the Nets All-Star had virtually been off of the grid since Brooklyn was eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks in May. Although we may not have seen or heard from Irving publicly in over two months, he has been doing some incredibly important work behind the scenes.
Irving and his Kai Family Foundation helped build a solar water center in the Rohal village in the Sindh Province of Pakistan, to help provide clean water for a district that has suffered from a drought for the last 17 years. Kyrie’s generous efforts began back in April when Sonny Khan, one of his Pakistani American fans reached out to him for help.
“Kyrie has always been one of my favorite players. One day I was just scrolling online and came across his surreal track record of philanthropy. I was surprised to see how much work he’s done in Africa, the work he’s done for low-income communities, and work towards women’s empowerment,” said Khan, who is the founder and director of the Paani Project per NetsDaily.
“I reached out to his foundation directly and told them about Paani. How we have $0 in overhead costs. How we give all of our money to the people. How we record everything from start to finish. How we’ve raised over $1 million as volunteers without any money for marketing. I think our story of being kids who just wanted to help resonated.”
Once again Kyrie is delivering both on and off of the court.
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Kyrie Irving Takes Savage Shot at Nike After Images of Latest Shoe Leaks