Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving team up for a new signature sneaker collab

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are expected to make a comeback with the 2020-21 season seemingly on the horizon. While Durant was out for the entire season with an Achilles injury, Irving missed a major chunk of the season due to his injuries. With the 2020-21 season nearing, fans have been excited about the two players finally playing together for the Nets. However, even before the teams begin practising together, reports have announced a new collaboration between the two Nets stars. 

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New Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving shoe collab on the cards

As per New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy a Durant-Irving Nike signature shoe collab is in the works. According to reports, while deciding whose signature shoe should be released, the Nets stars decided to collaborate together. "It kind of spawned into, 'Wouldn't it be cool if we collaborated on something together in the near future?'" said Ben Nethongkome, a Nike designer who has worked with Irving on his previous Kyrie 7. 

Nethongkome explained that Durant was immediately on board and their team is excited to see "some level of interaction between those two in terms of product creation in the near future". The new shoe could also be a celebration of the two of them being teammates in the upcoming season. 

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He even spoke about Irving on the Nets team and how "his role on the Nets is a little different now because he's got to facilitate for his players". With Durant on the roster, he has to work on distributing on the ball elsewhere, not wanting to focus on one-on-one attack anymore. This is where the Kryie 7 factors in, which will allow Irving to move around more freely. "He feels like he be all over the court much easier than the Kyrie 6 or the Kyrie 5," Nethongkome explained. 

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Irving, who is currently signed to a $114 million contract with the Nets, has one of the highest shoe sales in the NBA, having only LeBron James sell him out in 2017-18. His deal with Nike is worth around $11 million per year. On the other hand, Durant's current deal with Nike is worth $300 million, including royalties. His original rookie deal was worth $60 million, after which he signed a ten-year extension in 2014. 

Also read | NBA start date for 2020-21 season could be December 22

(Image credits: AP)