Kyrie Irving is hoping to get his second NBA title this month, but whether he gets it or not, he already has one lifelong fan after giving a special pair of Nike sneakers to the son of an HBCU basketball head coach.
The current Dallas Mavericks star gave one young man the thrill of a lifetime a few years back when he gave him a pair of his game shoes.
The young man’s name is LeVelle Moton Jr. He is the son and the namesake of North Carolina Central University head basketball coach LeVelle Moton Sr., one of the top coaches in HBCU basketball. The elder Moton revealed recently that Irving gave his son what turned out to be his last pair of game-worn Nike sneakers.
Moton posted the video on X on Saturday.
Kyrie Irving was still a member of the Brooklyn Nets in late 2022 when the Motons came to see him play. After the game, the NBA superstar trotted over to Junior – also known as VJ – and gave him a pair of his sneakers. He was wearing a pair of Kyrie 7s, his signature shoe with the company that he signed with after being picked first overall in the NBA Draft a decade prior.
However, it turned out to be the last time he would wear Nike on the sidelines. Irving was dropped from his deal with Nike in December 2022 after posting a link on social media to a book and movie containing antisemitic messaging.
The contract, signed when he was a rookie in 2011, was set to end on Oct. 2023.
Now with the Dallas Mavericks, Kyrie Irving is currently wearing the Anta Kai 1, his latest signature sneaker with the Chinese athletic brand Anta Sports.
Meanwhile, VJ Moton has a collector’s item on his hands.