Excitement has grown since Kyrie Irving debuted his first signature shoe with ANTA during the Dallas Mavericks’ win over the Brooklyn Nets last February 7.
The NBA champion did star in their 119-107 victory by dropping 36 against his former team, but much of the attention was drawn to the mainly purple and pink sneaker he wore that immediately caught social media ablaze: the KAI 1.
It is his first signature shoe since signing a five-year deal with the Chinese brand last year following a well-documented parting of ways with Nike in 2022.
For starters, the 31-year-old signed a five-year shoe deal with ANTA in July — a partnership that also appointed him as the brand’s Chief Creative Officer.
When will it hit retail shelves? That question is finally answered as the brand on Tuesday announced that it will be released on March 6 for 125 USD.
No word yet on when it will arrive on local shores but Filipino fans, for now, can have their hands on the ANTA STG Shock Wave Pro ‘Kyrie Pack.’
The collection, which features five different colorways of the model Irving used at the start of the NBA season, serves as a prelude to the KAI 1.
“It’s the last sneaker you saw Kyrie wearing in the NBA, before he decided to show everybody what the KAI 1 will look like,” said ANTA Philippines marketing manager Mikko Abello. “These five colorways are made specifically for Kyrie.”
(C) ANTA Philippines
ANTA PH unveiled the pack last February 16 at the Ronac Lifestyle Center by way of an art exhibit in collaboration with Marclen Ricafort-Chulani.
The brand couldn’t have chosen a more fitting artist to collaborate with than the Filipino artist, whose works are heavily influenced by basketball, having played college hoops for the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Dragons.
“We wanted to launch this collection in a very special way,” said Abello. “So, we decided to do a collaboration with Marclen Ricafort-Chulani.
“If you look at her usual works, it’s really all inspired by basketball. Her art has basketball in its heart. So she was the perfect artist to collaborate with.”
All five colorways of the player-exclusive collection — Sun, Moon, Focus, Strength, and Speed — were present in the “Untitled” art exhibit.
The ANTA STG Shock Wave 5 Pro ‘Kyrie Pack’ was released last February 17 in select ANTA and TITAN doors. Each pair retails for P9,995.00.
