The fictional underwater world of Bikini Bottom is being brought to life thanks to Kyrie Irving.
Irving has partnered with Nike and Nickelodeon to create the SpongeBob SquarePants collection of colorful shoes, inspired by the main characters of the beloved cartoon series.
The collection will consist of five designs, giving SpongeBob, Patrick Star, Squidward Tentacles, Mr. Krabs and Sandy Cheeks their own signature shoe.
SpongeBob, Patrick Star and Squidward’s shoe will be represented by the Nike Kyrie 5 and Mr. Krabs and Sandy’s shoe will be represented by the Nike Kyrie Low 2.
All five shoes feature the character’s face on the insole and are accompanied by colorways that match each of their apparel.
Irving spoke to GQ in an interview about his love for SpongeBob.
“I was hooping a lot, so SpongeBob for me was every day, Nickelodeon at night, watching just countless SpongeBob episodes. It was like, ’All right, when’s the next episode coming out?’ And then I got older, stopped watching as much TV, but the connection was always there.”
Irving even put the characters in positions that they would play on the court.
“Squidward is a shooting guard. He’s the most selfish one. He just shoots his own shots. He doesn’t care what’s going on.”
“SpongeBob is really like… positionless. He can play the 3/4, go to the 1.”
“Mr. Krabs is like the power forward. He’s literally the muscle of the group. He’s always giving different business ideas on how to spend money and like, ‘The Krusty Krab is the best ever!’ and he’s competing with the Chum Bucket.”
Irving also called Sandy the most talented of the characters because “She shoots on land. She’s never shot on an underwater basketball hoop.”
Irving also spoke about the life lessons he learned from SpongeBob.
“The DNA of why I create is just: be you. He lives in a pineapple under the sea, has a great group of friends, keeps ’em close.”
“He wakes up every single day and it’s a new challenge for him and he has to embrace the challenge first and foremost, figure out how his friends fit into that. It’s always about who he is and what he represents, but also how the characters all tie into a family. So that’s what I took from it as a kid.”
Here’s a look at the collection of shoes that will wash ashore on August 10:
SpongeBob
Patrick Star
Squidward
Mr. Krabs
Sandy
