The one thing NBA players never have a shortage of is sneakers. With their million-dollar contracts and collaborations, every brand in the world is trying to get NBA players to wear their sneakers during a game. But this one fan saw that become reality with a pair of custom ANTA shoes for Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving.
Irving received the shoes from a fan before their game against the Los Angeles Lakers and wound up wearing them to a fantastic performance, albeit in a 99-107 loss.
A fan gave Kyrie some Kyrie shoes he customized, and he wore them in game last night 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DFsSvQZ6th
— Jo (@MavsStan41) February 26, 2025
The Mavericks have confirmed that these shoes were in fact the ones Irving had been gifted, as they’re the ones who shared this video on TikTok. It’s a wonderful gesture by Irving who has been incredibly appreciative of fans in his career but especially over the last few seasons.
Irving dropped 35 points (12-27 FG) with seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks while rocking these custom shoes, so they clearly held up to their end of the bargain.
It’s also a great endorsement of the products ANTA sells off-the-shelf, as this fan likely just bought the shoes and customized it before Irving used them in a high-stakes NBA game.
Kyrie Irving Kept The Fans In Mind While Discussing Luka Doncic Trade
Irving’s empathy with fans has been on full display recently.
The Mavericks guard was in the face of a media storm when the franchise traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. The organization has shared multiple negative facts about Doncic to try and justify the trade, even editing him out of highlight packages to get the fans to move on.
Instead of vilifying Dallas fans, Irving shared an incredibly sympathetic response to the Doncic trade and how the fans are justified in being as heartbroken as they are.
“I think it has graduated from hate to anger… And the passion. You gotta give credit to Dallas fans, they’ve really cheered, not only for Luka but for the Mavericks, for some odd years. This is their community team. It’s just like I felt a way when the New Jersey Nets moved to Brooklyn… Even when J-Kidd was on the Nets and he got traded, I was mad at J-Kidd for a while as a young fan.”
“It’s just part of human nature and this journey in the NBA business… Just the engagement we have with the fans. We have young fans, we have older fans who have been cheering for everybody. So you just gotta give everybody grace. To see emotions come out over basketball, it shows that basketball is not just a game to people, it’s a spiritual experience.”
“They watch their favorite players and they want to see their favorite teams. I err on the side of understanding where people are coming from. I didn’t see anybody getting ejected but it is just part of the process of what we’re all dealing with as fans. Gotta move forward and put our best foot forward.”
This was a response that fans unanimously rallied behind, as it made them feel seen while helping them accelerate accepting the reality of moving on with life without Doncic.
Considering how Kyrie was viewed by fans just a few years ago, it’s wonderful to see how his earnest actions have helped him not only rediscover his joy for basketball but also reconnect with millions who are mesmerized by his style of play.
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