In case you missed it, Stephen Curry decided to lace up Kyrie Irving’s KAI 3 shoes back in January. He became the first NBA player to don the shoe and made headlines in the process. Mostly because he and Kyrie might be seen as rivals to some.
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However, according to Irving, the Golden State Warriors legend reached out to ANTA asking to wear the shoes. He chose the Chinese New Year design, which really popped on the court. Furthermore, he wore them while playing on the road against the Dallas Mavericks for Kyrie to see.
“I’m grateful to Steph. Organically, he ended up reaching out to the brand since he’s a free agent. It was legendary,” Irving told Andscape.
It must have been an exciting moment for Kyrie. After all, ANTA is not a well-known or popular brand around the league. But having guys like Curry wear the shoes could generate some buzz.
Kyrie Irving says he’d love for Steph Curry to sign with ANTA after being the first player to wear his ANTA KAI 3:
“I’m grateful to Steph. Organically, he ended up reaching out to the brand since he’s a free agent. It was legendary, because we’re two competitors, two point… pic.twitter.com/TNtHtjitDN
— aly ✶ (@jinthirty) February 26, 2026
When many think about Curry and Kyrie together, they think about the latter hitting the game-winning shot against the former in the NBA Finals in 2016. But that was a while ago, and the two have formed mutual respect for one another over the years.
“We’re two competitors, two point guards, where our branding… sometimes we’ve been aligned, sometimes not, and we go at each other,” Irving expressed.
Nowadays, Curry and Kyrie don’t go at each other when it comes to branding. That’s because Steph recently ended his tenure with Under Armour in November 2025. He’s now a free agent who can sign with any company.
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Irving says that he wants to recruit Curry to ANTA.
“I’d love to have Steph on the brand. I’m just throwing it out there, man. We have the best product out there, the best brand.”
As of now, Curry hasn’t chosen a new brand to sign with. He’s worn the ANTA shoes, Nikes, as well as Adidas in games since parting with Under Armour. It’s rumored that he’s narrowed those down to his three finalists.
It’ll be super interesting to see who Curry eventually signs with. Irving is doing his best to get him on board with ANTA. But with Nike knocking on the door, a potential massive deal could be in store.
