John Kim 
Since Michael Jordan entered the fray, basketball athletes have been at the forefront of shaping Nike’s public image. The company has aligned with the right “superheroes” of sports and aligned them with impressive signature sneaker designs, cashing in on the basketball business for decades. Despite the slowdown over the years, the performance trend is on the upswing and Nike is honing in on its current best-selling athlete – Kyrie Irving. While his $120 Nike Kyrie 3 signature shoe was the best-selling basketball shoe of 2017, he had no other sneaker model bearing his name. During Nike’s Investor Day on October 25th, the brand confirmed that second Kyrie basketball shoe will debut, priced at $80.
Expanding the Kyrie brand laterally is a smart move at it continues to feed the demand for the championship-winning superstar’s footwear, but instead of creating higher-priced product that allows for limited access, Nike is opting for a “takedown” model – similar to what the brand has done with fellow established stars in LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant. While it is unclear when this new Kyrie shoe is expected to release or if it’ll even be available in the United States, we do know that his next shoe, the Nike Kyrie 4, will likely debut sometime in December as Nike has positioned that month in particular to be Kyrie’s exclusive debut platform.
