Nike Kyrie 3 Black/Golden

The Kyrie 3 is what you’d expect from Nike; it’s designed with a thorough analysis of Irving’s evolving on-court play and made concrete with performance technology that has been nearly perfected by the brand. Looking good with a pair of jeans comes secondary to being in tune with the athlete during activity. Thankfully, it does both. The shoe itself was created by a committee of Nike designers, with several distinct minds contributing new ideas and combining them with the proven success of the earlier models.

The third Kyrie shoe catapults from what has worked so well with the first two Nike Kyrie installments – the curved outsole, Zoom Air – and adds on two independent traction pods at the forefoot and an integrated forefoot band. The pods on the lateral and medial forefoot are emphasized with bright colors, while Dynamic Flywire cables aid with the lockdown on the forefoot band.

The Kyrie 3 is rife with personal details as well; returning is the “JBY” logo, representing Kyrie’s personal “Just Be Yourself” motto, and “H+H”, the “Hungry and Humble” message passed down from his father Drederick. Roman numerals VIII and XIII represent his late mother’s birthday on August 13th; the same graphic is tattooed on Kyrie’s wrists. Finally, his daughter’s name Azurie as well as his mother’s name Elizabeth can be found outside the visible Zoom Air window on the sole.