Last week, before taking on his favorite childhood team, the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving spent time in the Big Apple for the premiere of his new Foot Locker commercial.
Upon his arrival he dapped everyone up and cheesed on the red carpet with fans while he donned a leather jacket and hoodie.
Like his current presence in the league, his entrance to the event was low-key, but impactful as everyone got a chance to get up-close and personal with the man behind the Cleveland Cavaliers’ return to relevancy.
The leader of the Cavs stood in awe at the first viewing of his new Foot Locker “Week of Greatness” commercial, where he scores once again with his comedic genius. The commercial shows him rising to the hoop in a slow motion cinematic dunk. On the way up he has time to clip his fingernails, make a phone call and take a nap amongst other things.
While the commercial is really about sneakers, it could be used as a metaphor for Irving’s career. He’s arrived on the court and in our homes in his first real big national spot during the biggest shopping time of the year. Also, just like his motion in the commercial, the career of the second-year guard is on the rise and moving way faster than any camera can capture.
Irving’s initiation into the league came at a very precarious time. He came in as Cleveland’s beacon of hope after the team tied for the longest losing streak in American sports history (26) with a 19-63 record. For a rookie, that’s a lot on your shoulders, but Irving took it in stride.
“An NBA rook is a player that they come into the league and their just now realizing that the NBA really stands for No Boys allowed,” Irving said on NBA TV’s Rooks. “They have no idea what they are getting themselves into.”
Not only did Irving stand out as a boy amongst men, but he won the Rookie of the Year and put up numbers comparable to his predecessor LeBron James. The fact that his rookie year matches toe-to-toe on the stat sheet with one of the best players of this generation shows that Irving’s star is rising at an exponential rate. Just 10 games into the season, Irving is among the top 10 in the league in scoring.
Did I mention he’s doing all this at only 20 years young?
While all the attention in the league right now is on theatrics in NY, LA, the unibrow in New Orleans or Durant’s first triple-double, Irving is quietly cooking in Cleveland and dismissing any notions of a sophomore slump.
Much like his viral Uncle Drew commercials that wowed the Internet last year, but went sort of unnoticed on national television, Irving is a well-kept secret from those who don’t watch the NBA on a daily basis. However, that all may change this season once he turns his team around and makes them a viable eighth seed in the playoffs.
He’s already got the national commercial and one can only guess that bigger and better things will arise off the court, as he balls out on the court.
