Jarrett Allen needs your help. The Cleveland Cavaliers center – his perfectly curated afro kept neat inside a headband, looking like a blast from basketball’s past – came into the NBA in 2017 after being drafted by the Brooklyn Nets. With him, Allen brought the Kyrie 3, the third installment of Kyrie Irving’s signature Nike shoe released in 2016. The specific pair Allen wears is black and white. Clean. Professional.
The shoes and Allen have never separated. It’s a marriage rooted in, as Allen says, comfort and stubbornness. To this day, 620 career games later, including his lone All-Star appearance in 2022, you’ve never seen Allen without those Kyrie 3s, officially named “Nike Kyrie 3 TB Black White.” The kicks are part of his work attire, just like the afro and headband.
However, a divorce might come soon, but not because Allen wants something different.
“I’m on my last pair,” Allen, with sadness in his voice, told The Athletic. “As I find them online, I buy them as soon as I can, but I haven’t found a new pair in the last 1 1/2 years. So, the run might be over with those.”
Allen is an anomaly. He’s as rare as some of the Kobe Bryant signature shoes New York’s Jalen Brunson wears or the player-exclusive (PE) Jordans P.J. Tucker would rock. Basketball and sneakers go together like Prodigy and Havoc. One without the other doesn’t feel right. Players have personal relationships with the shoes they sport, which is why you might see your favorite player wear a different sneaker every night or another favorite wearing the same shoe game after game.
It’s why Allen is desperate to find another pair.
To be clear, he hasn’t worn the same pair of shoes since his first NBA game. Even he understands that would be malpractice, given how important functional shoes are to his profession.
It makes sense, though, why Allen’s run with the Nike Kyrie 3 TB Black White might be coming to…
[Context: The article discusses the strong personal connection between NBA players and the sneakers they wear on the court. Jarrett Allen, in particular, is highlighted for wearing the same Nike Kyrie 3 TB Black White shoes throughout his NBA career. The article delves into the unique relationships that players have with their footwear and how they approach selecting and wearing different pairs.]
[Fact Check: The information provided is based on interviews with NBA players and their personal experiences with sneakers.]
