Jaylen Brown Endorses Kyrie Irving’s ANTA Fashion Show Amid News of Fallout With Nike

Abhishek Dhariwal | 23/09/2024
Jaylen Brown Endorses Kyrie Irving's ANTA Fashion Show Amid News of Fallout With Nike

Kyrie Irving had a fallout with Nike a few years ago. The eight-time All-Star was dropped from the brand, leading him to sign with the Chinese conglomerate, Anta. And it looks like Jaylen Brown may follow suit as the Boston Celtics star was seen endorsing his former teammate on Instagram.

Irving hosted the first Anta Fashion Show in China, unveiling his brand-new Hela clothing apparel. The event was a massive success as it drew a huge crowd of fans and viewers. And Brown seems to be in full support of Kai.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nice Kicks (@nicekicks)

JB shared the post on his official Instagram account, reposting it on his IG Stories. 

But that wasn’t all as the reigning NBA champion also showed love to Irving and his clothing line in the comments section.

“Ky going crazy love to see it.”

For those who are unaware of the context, Irving was dropped by Nike a few years ago when he supposedly shared a link to a documentary on his socials. The documentary had antisemitic remarks leading fans to accuse Kyrie of antisemitism. 

This led Nike to end their partnership with the former NBA champion causing him to sign with Anta. Irving debuted the Anta KAI 1 ‘Chief Hélà’ in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Since then, the All-Star guard has released newer editions of his signature sneakers with different colorways and more. Uncle Drew even signed his father Drederick to a signature shoe deal. This marked the first time an athlete signed their father to the same brand.

Brown following in Irving’s footsteps

After Irving’s incident with Nike, JB started covering the Nike Swoosh logo on his shoes. He even covered the logo with the words, ‘Liberation.’ And that may have rubbed some Nike executives the wrong way.

Similarly to Irving, Brown felt that the $120 billion brand blackballed him from making it to the 2024 US Olympics team. The team already featured Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday on the roster.

After Kawhi Leonard dropped out from the squad, Brown was overlooked as Team USA chose to go with his teammate, Derrick White instead. The 2024 Finals MVP felt that Nike was the reason why he didn’t make the cut, leading him to send out a series of tweets on X.

Now, Brown may be signing with another international brand after his beef with Nike. His recent trip to South Korea may indicate that the Celtics star might be signing a deal with Baraq Co.

The 2024-25 NBA season may see Brown’s new line of signature sneakers coming out.

Post Edited By: Sameen Nawathe
Jaylen Brown kyrie irving

About the author

Avatar photo

Abhishek Dhariwal

A fan of Basketball since the late 2000s, Abhishek Dhaiwal has been covering the game for over five years. Having done his masters in Journalism and Mass Communication, Abhishek is an NBA sports journalist at The SportsRush. A fan of the San Antonio Spurs since the Tim Duncan era, Abhishek has an extensive knowledge of the sport and has covered more than 1500 articles. Having a firsthand experience of the sport, Abhishek has represented his city and state at a District and National level. And it is the same level of expertise he aims to bring while covering extensive topics both on and off the court of your favorite basketball stars.

Don’t miss these