In the world of sports, having your own line of product is definitely up there with winning championships. And for athletes, there's only a few things cooler than having a signature shoe. Basketball is one of the sports that relies on personalities and signature lines to sell shoes. Looking at the basketball shoe landscape, Nike has its big three of stars in LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant. Jordan Brand keeps Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul laced in their own kicks. Adidas has Derrick Rose, and a host of other brands pump out shoes for ballers like Dwayne Wade, Rajon Rondo, and Kevin Love.
Every name up there is big, no doubt for their own accomplishments and contributions to the game. But there comes a time when you have to look to the future. And out of the all the budding stars in the NBA right now, there's no bigger name that deserves his own signature shoe other than Kyrie Irving.
Kyrie Irving came into the league as the Number 1 draft pick in 2011 and immediately had to shoulder the enormous and unenviable task of being the face of the Cleveland Cavaliers after LeBron took his talents to South Beach. Winning Rookie of The Year was only the start in a string of awards he's won since his debut. Let's not forget the awe-inspiring performances either. The scoring tears, the crossovers, turning Brandon Knight into the Human Highlight Reel for all the wrong reasons, the dude practically owns All-Star weekend and gave people a reason to watch the Cavs again.
But before I come off as too much of a Kyrie Irving fanboy, let's take a look at it from a marketing perspective. He may not have led the Cavs to the big stage of the NBA Playoffs yet, but it's been proven that he can be the face of a big brand. The "Uncle Drew" Pepsi Max campaign garnered not only stateside attention, but the fact that people in a basketball-crazy nation like ours have spread the videos proves he's a hit among the basketball shoe target market. And when Nike debuted the Hyperrev sneaker last year, it was Irving's face that was seen in most if not all the marketing materials. In any consumer's mind, that creates a strong association between Irving and the Hyperrev. Much like LeBron James and the Zoom Generation, or Kobe Bryant in the EQT Elevation or Huarache 2k4. I can only speculate at this point, but if that was the case, you might as well call the Hyperrev the Irving 0.
Once his contract with Nike is up, you know it's gonna be a war. But if anything, I'd like to hope Nike keeps him around. Who knows, the Cavs might make it to the playoffs in a couple of years. Or Kyrie Irving might jump ship to a bigger market team (*cough Hollywood *cough) to chase rings there. Either way, the more success comes his way, the more people are going to want to know what's on his feet.
Any other stars you feel deserve a sneaker of their own? Let me know in the comments section!
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