Matt Varga Kyrie Irving won’t have the opportunity to close out his first half-season as the earnest captain of the Dallas Mavericks. A season-ending injury robbed the on-court magician of that chance, but as he’s said in live streams and official statements since, his fire for the game has Irving’s eyes set on a “better than ever” return. For our purposes, that professional passion has been a guiding principle for plenty of colorways under his ANTA banner, so it’s no surprise it lights the way for the ANTA KAI 2 “Muse.”
Given how early into the KAI 2 story we are, each successive look provides more insight into what shape the model will take moving forward. Compared to the debut look, the KAI 2 “Muse” issues some significant compositional changes, swapping to a synthetic, mesh-heavy build as opposed to the leather hardware of the first. Additionally, the layered mudguards from the “Artist On Court” are removed, instead replaced with a stitched lockdown at the forefoot.
More generally, this far simplifies the palette, relying extensively on jet black with some flares of red and light blue at the heel and on the translucent outsole traction. For those who stuck with all of Kyrie’s exploits in his first year under ANTA, you’ll clock that it strikes closer to the sporty outfits we’ve seen on the KAI 1 Speed than the dense, expressive fare that defined the KAI 1. Finally, to touch on the shoe’s narrative, it evokes the concept of being one’s own “Muse,” something Kyrie has spoken on in the past and a continuation of the art-meets-sport motifs that spawned the “Artist on Court.”
ANTA’s global profiles have teased that the KAI 2 “Muse” will land in March. However, note as always that select KAI 1 pairs never made their way to the states, but this early into the shoe’s run, this colorway will likely see a stateside release. Expect the $140 retail price to remain consistent once this pair does land.
