The sneaker stakes shift dramatically whenever Stephen Curry has a new logo on his feet. This week, Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving addressed the elephant in the room after Curry laced up his KAI 3. The Golden State Warriors superstar became the first player to wear the new release. Since then, Irving has let the sneaker free agency rumors brew to an optimal blend, now revealing his gratitude and special wish.

“I’m grateful to Steph,” Irving told Andscape when asked about the viral sightings of Curry in his signature kicks. “Organically, he ended up reaching out to the brand since he’s a free agent. It was legendary.”

Irving sure has some pull. In addition to being ANTA’s signature athlete, he’s also the Chief Creative Officer and helped them open their first US flagship store. It wouldn’t be that big a deal for him to send a pair to a fellow shooter, but he appreciated Curry’s initiative in asking. Irving noted that while the two have often been pitted against one another as rivals, they are now finding common ground outside it.

“We’re two competitors, two point guards, where our branding… sometimes we’ve been aligned, sometimes not, and we go at each other,” Irving said.

The Mavericks star then dropped his biggest wish (shot in the dark, maybe?)

“But I feel like (at ANTA), we’re making that mark, where not only are we gonna say we have great product, but we have the community to match it,” Irving said. “I’d love to have Steph on the brand. I’m just throwing it out there, man. We have the best product out there, the best brand.”

If reports are to be believed, Stephen Curry might just take up Kyrie’s offer.

Why Kyrie Irving has won the Stephen Curry sneaker sweepstakes

Stephen Curry remains sidelined with a runner’s knee, but that hasn’t stopped him from making ripples off the court. From Bay Area insiders hinting at his potential 2028 Olympic plans to rolling up for the All-Star Weekend in former teammate (and now Irving’s teammate) Klay Thompson’s KT11 ANTA shoes, he’s kept things interesting, to say the least.

Curry has reportedly shortlisted three brands to potentially sign with since his Under Armour contract ends this year. ANTA is one of them because he recently wore another pair from the brand, the ANTA Sneakerverse SV Eclosion Type 2. Only this time, it was different: the shoes he got from Irving bore the Curry Brand logo on the heel. None of the previous brands he tested had the logo. So there was plenty of reason to think that ANTA has unofficially landed Curry.

The prospect of Curry joining Irving at ANTA would represent one of the most significant marketing coups in sports history. Since Irving signed his massive nine-figure deal with ANTA in 2023, the brand has seen a meteoric rise in global visibility.

Multiple sneaker reviews claimed Irving’s sneakers were one of the most highly rated performance basketball shoes of 2024, after the Curry 12.

Industry analysts suggest that an Irving-Curry duo would give ANTA an unprecedented stronghold in the guard market, particularly in the lucrative Asian market, after it also acquired a reported $1.8 billion stake in PUMA, making it the brand’s largest shareholder.

While Curry has yet to make an official announcement about his next long-term home, Irving’s bold claim and the presence of the Curry brand logo on the sneaker suggest this deal is nearly set in stone.