Kyrie Irving has had one of the more eye-catching sets of sneakers on his feet throughout this past season. Having recently signed a deal with Anta, following his split with Nike, the Chinese brand has already given him his own signature line, with all the creative freedom in the world. And as seen in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the star has put this to some very good use.
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Dallas Mavericks star strode into Game 1 with some rather interesting-looking shoes on his feet. Upon closer inspection, fans realized it was a uniquely designed version of his signature sneaker – the Anta Kyrie 1. And as Nick DePaula would explain on X [Formerly Twitter], the details were meant to pay homage to his Native American heritage.
Kyrie Irving is in the Anta KAI 1 “Chief Hélà” to start the Western Conference Finals pic.twitter.com/u9z7wUxLxb
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) May 23, 2024
The name of this colorway, ‘Chief Hela’, is the Mavericks’ star’s very own Lakota name. And given the Native American details on the shoe, it fits perfectly.
Moving on to Kyrie’s customization, many may think the player never did this kind of thing with Nike. However, per Sneaker News, the star very much had a special colorway with the sneaker brand.
Just so yall know, it's happened before pic.twitter.com/NAKVDSx4r6
— Meloismybabbydaddy (@Melobabbydaddy) May 23, 2024
Not only did it have the tassels to imitate the leather hide moccasin, but there were also messages written under it, reading ‘Power to the People’ and ‘Freedom’.
Whether his sneaker with Anta has that kind of detail attached to it has yet to be revealed. However, Kyrie Irving’s desire to represent his people and pay homage to them even as he is in the Western Conference Finals is beyond admirable.
It shows just how aware the star is of the power he holds, and how he can use it for good. And considering that this is a pattern with the Mavs star, fans can be confident that he won’t be moving away from this side of himself anytime soon.
