Kyrie Irving signs a shoe deal with Father Drederick

Drederick Irving received an early Father’s Day gift when his NBA-playing son, Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks, signed him to a shoe deal ANTA Sportscompany with which it has a business relationship.

According to , Kyrie, who’s preparation to play in his fourth NBA Finals on June 6, presented Drederick with a deal that will allow his father to launch his own signature shoes under the ANTA Sports brand. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, that is the primary time a skilled athlete has signed a shoe deal with a parent.

Kyrie signed with ANTA Sports after parting ways with sneaker giant NIKE in December 2022. The quarterback signed his last contract in 2023. The shoe will reportedly launch exclusively at Foot Locker stores in September.

Kyrie was capable of sign with his father because he’s the creative director of ANATA Sports.

Drederick, who’s from the Bronx, also played basketball growing up. He played at Adlai E. Stevenson High School before developing his athletic skills at Boston University. He played professionally in Australia. Former NBA player Rod Strickland, Kyrie’s godfather, played basketball with Drederick while the 2 honed their basketball skills.

This news comes hot on the heels of the sneaker company announcement that it’ll release ANTA KAI 1 “Playoffs Energy” in a yellow colorway. Retailing for $125, these sneakers can be found exclusively on the positioning anta.com.

Kyrie and the Mavericks will begin the NBA Finals on June 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden against the Boston Celtics. This is a comeback for Kyrie, as he was a member of the Celtics for 2 years when he was traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers on August 22, 2017. He played for the team until he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.