The 2023 NBA All-Star delivered great excitement, with a better dunk contest than last year. Ja Morant who is probably the best power dunker in the league received his first signature sneakers. However, $400 for a pair of sneakers left NBA fans speechless. Nonetheless, Nike needed to do a better job in the pricing department. Kyrie Irving, who has had a controversial year came up in the All-Star game with another way to hide the Swoosh logo from Nike.
Kyrie and Nike parted ways, which left the Mavericks’ star without any sneaker endorsement deal. For reference, Irving is not permitted to wear any of his signature sneakers at any of the games. Nike has no intentions of bringing back the deal with 8x All-Star on the table. Nonetheless, Kyrie has not shied away from not wearing his signature sneakers from Nike. However, Kyrie has attempted to hide the Nike logo to avoid further repercussions.
His latest attempt came in last night’s 2023 NBA All-Star game, where he could be seen wearing his signature sneakers. However, to hide the Nike logo, he covered the Swoosh with what looked to be tassels. The 8x All-Star attracted a load of fans reacting on Twitter after his second-half cameo. One even wrote, “Hide dat Nike logo at all costs.”
Hide dat Nike logo at all costs
— Confused Houston Fan 🙃😕😐 (@Snyphe) February 20, 2023
Kyrie just looking for attention
no one was talking about his shoes before he did this 😂
— Yogi🍎 (@yog_urt) February 20, 2023
Giving Nike more publicity than they woulda got if he just wore them normally lmao pic.twitter.com/xgJ9vuCv7u
— Dane Williams (@danewilliamsFL) February 20, 2023
Kyrie didn’t fail to showcase, that he is not done with Nike, and chose to wear his signature sneakers. Uncle Drew went with a different way to hsneaker-freeide the swoosh logo, rather than just writing on top of the swoosh logo. Nonetheless, the fans enjoyed the way he continues to keep risking himself to attract more controversies.
Why did Kyrie Irving hide the Nike logo?
Kyrie this season has involved himself in several controversies. All these controversies have made the Mavericks star’s life difficult. Uncle Drew received a suspension after posting a link on Twitter that happened to be an anti-Semitic documentary. This wasn’t tolerated by the Sports Brand. He received warnings from the Nets owner, Joe Tsai, and NBA commissioner, Adam Silver. Kyrie eventually apologized to the world after his involvement.
Kyrie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete, Nike spokesperson says. The sides have parted ways one month after Nike suspended its relationship with the Nets star. Irving has one of most popular signatures shoes in the NBA and is now a sneaker free agent.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 5, 2022
This didn’t save him from anything. It led Nike to cut off all ties with the 8x All-Star, which left him without any sneaker endorsements. Nike posted an official statement of cutting off ties with Kyrie Irving. “Kyrie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete, Nike spokesperson says. The sides have parted ways one month after Nike suspended its relationship with the Nets star. Irving has one of most popular signatures shoes in the NBA and is now a sneaker free agent.”
Kyrie suffered a huge loss of $11 million after Nike decided to terminate his deal with them. This put a stop to all his merchandise. Kyrie is still without any shoe endorser and continues to wear his signature sneakers while hiding the swoosh logo.