Kyrie Irving 'Prays' Fans Kept His Nike SpongeBob Sneakers

"I pray that you have those SpongeBob kept up somewhere safe," Irving said. "Those are like a selling piece, art piece. I'm telling you right now, those shoes will be worth something in the next 10-20 years."

In August 2019, Nike launched a collaboration with SpongeBob SquarePants centered around Irving's fifth signature sneaker. The Nike 5 dropped in five colorways inspired by the children's animated television show: "SpongeBob," "Patrick Star," "Squidward Tentacles," "Mr. Krabs," and "Sandy Cheeks."

Resale Value

Each colorway of the SpongeBob SquarePants x Nike 5 had a retail price of $130 in adult sizes. Currently, each colorway has an average resale price of close to $400 on the sneaker resale platform StockX. It is safe to assume that collectors will only drive the price up further in the future.

Of course, much has changed for Irving since that time in his career. Irving and Nike parted ways in December 2022. After a brief sneaker free agency, Irving partnered with the Chinese sportswear brand ANTA on a five-year deal in July 2023.

Kyrie Irving's ANTA Contract

The contract made Irving the Chief Creative Officer of ANTA Basketball, and the partnership has been a massive success for both parties. Irving has used his creativity and clout to make ANTA a household name among young hoopers in the United States and recruit other NBA players to the company.

In January 2026, ANTA launched Irving's third signature basketball shoe . Unfortunately, Irving could not debut the shoe himself as he missed the entire 2025-26 NBA season recovering from an ACL injury. However, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry helped debut the shoe for Irving.

Kyrie Irving's Sneaker Legacy

While many of us are nostalgic for Irving's time with Nike, he continues to put out basketball shoes that are popular among hoopers and fans. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Kicks On SI for all your footwear news from the NBA and beyond.