?I Am That Guy?: Having Raised $2.6 Billion With Nike, Kyrie Irving Puts Himself Next to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James

The sneaker culture and basketball go hand in hand. The great Michael Jordan is often credited as the creator of this mammoth culture. However, there were several athletes before him who had deals with shoe companies. Regardless, it was MJ who brought the giant named Air Jordan to the world. Since then, athletes from every generation have had their own shoe line.

Recently, Kyrie Irving bragged about having brought billions of dollars worth of sales through his shoe line. Not just that, with his social media post, he also put himself alongside greats like MJ, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.

Kyrie Irving compares himself with the other greats of the game

Before Jordan came into the picture with Nike, brands like Adidas and Converse used to rule the market. However, when Nike signed a rookie at the time to their brand, things started changing. With the marketing strategy and the image that His Airness had in public, Nike’s sales skyrocketed, crushing every competitor. While he was still playing for the Chicago Bulls, Jordan brought in record sales year after year. After his retirement, the brand Jordan didn’t lose its relevance as they kept signing new and exciting athletes to the roster. Kobe and LeBron are two of the biggest athletes signed to the brand.

As the years passed, signing to Jordan became part of every elite athlete’s journey. The sneaker culture wave was boosted the most by Jordan and Nike and it continues today in full swing as well. Recently, O?Shea Jackson Jr, son of legendary rapper Ice Cube, posted a question on his Twitter profile. “Besides Mike. Kobe. And Bron. Who got the highest-selling signature shoes ?” asked Jackson Jr.

Replying to his tweet, Irving wrote, “My signature line made the previous brand I was with over 2.6 Billion in Revenue the past 7 years.” Irving said that he is not being “arrogant” as the kids who grew up buying his shoes will tell the same story. “respectfully I am that guy because of the Support WORLDWIDE,” he added.

What are some of the most popular shoes of all time?

The Athletic had posted the list of the 25 greatest sneakers of all time. The list was two folds, one with the sneakers committee ranking and another with the reader voting. In both lists, MJ and Kobe were in the top 3 spots. LeBron was #2nd in the committee rankings, but in the reader’s list, he was at #6th. Whereas Irving secured the #5 spot in both rankings.

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Kyrie Irving’s Inferno and Infinity series are among his most popular shoes.

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