Celebrity Name: Kyrie Irving
Brand Name: ANTA Sports
Represented By: A11Even
Deal Type: Signature Shoe Deal + Chief Creative Officer, ANTA Basketball
Announced: Early 2026
Impact: Establishes Kyrie as a cornerstone of ANTA’s global basketball push and solidifies the KAI line as a recurring, evolving signature franchise.
- Kyrie Irving has launched a new campaign for ANTA spotlighting the KAI 3.0, the third chapter in his annual signature shoe franchise with the brand.
- Since signing a 5-year deal with ANTA in July 2023, Irving has held the title of Chief Creative Officer of ANTA Basketball, an executive-level seat that puts him in direct control of product and brand direction.
- The KAI 1 dropped in 2024, the KAI 2 followed in 2025, and now the KAI 3.0 marks a full-blown annual signature franchise, not a one-season experiment.
- The KAI 3.0 rollout was built with Black-owned agency Team Epiphany and director Mike Carson, centering the campaign on time, healing, discipline, and unseen work, reframing Irving’s comeback as earned evolution, not just a return.
The Dallas Mavericks guard, Kyrie Irving, is fronting a new campaign for ANTA, that centers on the KAI 3.0, the latest installment in his growing signature shoe franchise.
Released in January 2026 at $135, the KAI 3.0 is the first model in what ANTA is officially calling the “KAI 3.0 era,” and the campaign behind it is just as deliberate as the shoe itself.
Built with Black-owned creative agency Team Epiphany and award-winning director Mike Carson, the rollout skips the highlight-reel energy most sneaker campaigns lean on. Instead, it documents growth: quiet discipline, physical recovery, and the kind of spiritual focus that’s defined Irving’s public persona in recent years.
The campaign’s anchor colorway, the KAI 3.0 ‘432HZ’, leans fully into that philosophy, with the number 432 referencing a frequency long associated with healing and harmony.
This is all by design. When Irving signed a 5-year deal with ANTA in July 2023, following the end of his long-running Nike partnership, the brand didn’t just hand him a contract.
They handed him a title: Chief Creative Officer of ANTA Basketball. That role gave Irving direct influence over product development, athlete recruitment, and brand storytelling.
The results have been fast. The KAI 1 launched in 2024 as his first official ANTA signature. The KAI 2 followed in 2025. Now the KAI 3.0 cements what ANTA has been building: a true annual franchise with cultural legs.
On the performance side, the shoe features a cushioned midsole for impact protection, a supportive upper for stability, and a traction pattern tuned for Irving’s explosive, handle-heavy style of play.
Irving’s deal also fits into a broader wave of basketball stars locking in long-term, values-driven footwear partnerships. Rising WNBA star Aneesah Morrow recently did the same on the women’s side, as she signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Reebok.
In a short time, ANTA has quietly become one of the most interesting stories in basketball footwear, and Irving is at the center of it.
Takeaways:
Kyrie Irving’s ANTA chapter is shaping up to be one of the more fascinating brand stories in modern sports. Most athletes wear shoes.
Kyrie is building a universe around them; and doing so with an executive title, a creative agency partner, and a cinematic campaign language that feels more like an art project than a product drop.
What’s especially worth watching is the speed of ANTA’s execution. Three signature models in three years is aggressive product cadence, signaling that ANTA isn’t just using Kyrie as a face; they’re fully invested in him as a long-term franchise pillar with global ambitions.
Can ANTA turn the KAI franchise into a globally recognizable line on par with Nike’s Kyrie series? Does Kyrie’s creative control make you more likely to trust or try ANTA products?
