Kyrie Irving on His New Nike x SpongeBob Shoes and the Best Basketball Players in Bikini Bottom

What was your relationship to it growing up?
I was hooping a lot, so SpongeBob for me was every day, Nickelodeon at night, watching just countless SpongeBob episodes. It was like, “All right, when’s the next episode coming out?” Then there were so many seasons coming out it was like, Whoo! And then I got older, stopped watching as much TV, but the connection was always there.

And it goes deep-rooted to Nickelodeon as well. SpongeBob is a great vehicle to partner with for this, but Nickelodeon itself, it’s brand that exists in a whole other space for me. In terms of the shows that they did and the inclusion they had with kids and slime and Nickelodeon Choice Awards. As a kid, you’re seeing all these shows—Rocket Power!—and they’re coming out with vehicle after vehicle after vehicle. 20 years later and now I’m doing a frickin’ SpongeBob collection.

Was part of the allure with SpongeBob that you got to be loud and play with colors?
Yeah, and be very expressive. My brand DNA is really centered around expression, community, and risk-taking, as well as inclusion and compassion for others. I try to be as inclusive, very message-driven with the community, taking risks with other great brands that have been established.

Do you still watch the show?
Not as often as I used to, brother. Not as often as I used to.

You’ve done two television show-themed shoes. Why does that work for you?
Back to back. Because of what it represents. Let’s create something that when you see it on the shelf that will exist on its own. And when you play on the court, it obviously has the performance, it has the innovation. But there’s still a sense of individuality. Like, not everyone is going to be wearing this on court [picks up Patrick shoes], not everyone’s going to like this color [taps Squidward shoes], not everyone’s gonna be a fan of this [grabs Spongebob pair]. So why not create things that you can pick and choose?

You’ll wear these on the court?
Yeah.

Do you have a favorite?
My favorite character is SpongeBob. Yellow in itself is one of my favorite colors, just because you gotta be prideful to wear yellow, especially yellow like that. My favorite color is red as well for Mr. Krabs and that’s just a homegrown thing—Mr. Plankton and the one eye. All of them, man. Especially Squidward—there are subtle details like the clarinet.