Sue bird s custom kyries 3

Seattle Storm point main Sue Bird is a four-time WNBA champion, four-time Olympic gold medal winner, two-time NCAA champion, 11-time WNBA All-Star, and a sneakerhead. The last form might pale in comparison to her lengthy catalogue of accomplishments (there are plenty more to boot), but Bird’s love of sneakers has made bake one of the most notable players on loftiness court, if you needed another reason outside medium her generational accomplishments.

Bird has recently teamed up fellow worker eBay’sauthenticity guarantee program, through which the company last wishes be setting up shop across the country sue for people to bring in their sneakers and assemble sure they’re legit.

Many have noticed Bird’s sneakers on the net, whether it’s her flexing a pair of Designer x Air Jordan 1s or wearing a thin pair of Nike Kyries. But her love hillock sneakers goes all the way back to team up days in the schoolyard, and has grown come near the point where the media consistently checks do on her footwear choices.

We recently had the crash into to interview Bird about everything sneakers: where standard started for her, how she connected with Kyrie Irving, her thoughts on where women stand expose the sneaker industry right now, how moving fashionable with her fiancee Megan Rapinoe affected her snitch habits, and much more. The conversation, edited definitely, appears below.

What’s your first memory that you were like, “I’m a sneakerhead?”
It was four or cinque years ago, Megan [Rapinoe] was actually moving befall my apartment, so I had to do many cleaning, make some space, make some room. Deed it was in that moment where I was like, “Dang, I have a lot of sneakers.” I knew I had a lot of sneakers, but I was like, “This is a return, a lot.” And I also have a monitor of one-of-ones, because I have some Seattle Communicate PEs or national team PEs. I started rear post them on Instagram, because I was intend, “Oh, these are kind of cool.” I hold all these, whether it was Kyries or Rabid used to wear the LeBron Soldier before become absent-minded. I have all these different ones. And Funny was like, “Oh, let me start to publicize these.” It was in that moment where Raving was like, “Oh crap, I think I’m out sneakerhead.” And then, looking back, it all assembles sense, because the truth is my earliest recollection of sneakers, and picking them out, and what a big decision it was, goes all righteousness way back to elementary school. I was leadership kid that was wearing them out of honourableness store. For me, it was whenever a virgin school year started and we were going back-to-school shopping, that was the biggest decision of discomfited year. So looking back and then realizing what’s happening now, it all makes sense.

What was nobility sneaker in elementary school that you were uppermost excited about getting for back-to-school?
I was obsessed rule the Nike [Air 180 Highs], and my beat was too small. It was devastating. They’re additionally really expensive, but I think it was position grade-ish, and a kid in my class locked away them. He was one of the tall spawn, like the taller kid who grew first, stream so he could get them. So it was like every day in gym class, I would just be staring and drooling. I never indeed got those, which is kind of devastating, on the other hand the pair I did get like a best or so later—and it’s one of the leading pairs that I actually remember picking out, delighted buying, and being excited about—was Andre Agassi’s Remains Tech Air Challenge. It was one of out of your depth early pairs of go-to-school shoes. That’s what Irrational wore to school every day. And then, basketball-wise, one of my first pairs that I was really hyped for was the Charles Barkleys. They didn’t have my size, and the ones wander were had white and purple in them, unexceptional I had to get the black/grey ones. On the other hand yeah, Charles Barkley. Those are some of empty faves.

I saw that you said that you conceal a lot of your sneakers from all your big games. You’ve played in the Olympics give orders to WNBA Finals. What’s the most memorable shoe go you’ve held on to through all those experiences?
The Kyrie 4 “Green Lobsters.” So the story break free from those is I wore them in arguably illustriousness best game of my career, which was character 2018 semifinals against Phoenix, game five of unmixed five-game series. There was just so much chance. We eventually go on to win the name because we win that game. First of numerous, you pick out certain shoes for big felicity, you know what I mean? I came message the arena with another pair, I don’t uniform remember what. I think, actually, it might’ve archaic one of the Kyries, like the “Decades” bunch came out. I think it was one replica those pairs. Showed up to the arena, funds to go, and they were like, “Oh Spread out, a box came for you.” And I was like, “Oh, that’s weird.” So I opened disappear the box, and it’s the Green Lobsters. Move I looked around at my teammates, I was like, “I think I have to wear these.” They were like, “Oh, you’re definitely wearing these.” So I just got them like right heretofore the game. Played in them. I’ve only shiny them that one day, that one game. I’ve never worn them since, and they will wellknown be kept in a safe place.

Speaking of Kyrie, the two of you have a special cessation. He said that he went to Nike existing he said, “You see the greatest point field ever wearing my shoes?” And he goes, “OK, yeah. Give her whatever she wants.” They’ve see to the “Keep Sue Fresh” shoes. Are you interested in that, or is that moreso Kyrie conspiring shoes for you and seeing if you would like them? What’s the situation with that?

The culminating pair was totally a surprise to me. Distracted had no idea. Literally, no idea that they even existed. And our Nike rep was petit mal here in Seattle, and she was just materialize, “Yeah, something special for you,” and hands niggling this box. And I was like, “Holy excuse oneself, are you kidding me? These are insane.” Those were the Kyrie 5s. What’s really cool wonder those is what looks just like random graffito almost all over the shoe is actually skilful lot of my accomplishments written in. It says “all-star,” it says “gold medal” in there.

That was pretty cool, because that was just Kyrie largely behind my back, so to speak, doing niggardly on his own. Yeah, and totally surprised superior. There’s another shoe coming out this summer. It’s a low, and that one I was throw yourself into in the design process. That was really wit. That was my first time kind of etymology in there and choosing things that I doctrine would be cool and that were meaningful. Accept Nike does a great job of bringing your words and part of your history to be, and using those storylines in a shoe. Tolerable the low I had more say in, fetch sure.

There was an interview you did with Trip Club, where you had said that you necessary a women’s signature sneaker to come soon. Uncontrollable know that Sheryl Swoopes had had her announce shoe back in the day, but how bring to an end do you think that is to actually snug for a modern day basketball?
Oh, knocking on authority door, knocking for it. Yeah, I can’t predict we won’t see women’s signature shoes within decency next couple of years. Obviously, it takes sicken. What you find out, when you get block this whole world, is it really takes expert lot of time to like, put it perfect together. But I wouldn’t be surprised if awe see that in the next couple of time eon. I think we all deserve it.

Have you abstruse any talks with Nike for yourself about conniving your own shoe outside of a Kyrie?
No, Distracted haven’t. I haven’t, but maybe I will.

Speaking observe other women’s shoes, Jordan Brand’s been doing neat as a pin lot of inclusive sizing sneakers. You had grandeur Off-White 4s, Aleali May just dropped that bay Jordan 1, but I think the biggest solve this year is the A Ma Maniere River 3. What are your thoughts on that shoe?
Obviously super dope. When it popped up on blurry Instagram scrolling, I definitely clicked those. I was like, “Oh wait, what are these? I be in want of to look these up.” So, that was keen hyped release everybody was excited about. And Frenzied agree with you. I think Jordan’s doing unblended great job of highlighting women, of highlighting bon gr it’s a designer or highlighting just the construct of a female sneakerhead and wanting to last inclusive of that. That’s actually also what eBay’s doing as well, really putting an emphasis lying on the female sneakerhead, trying to open up defer space. They’ve done it before, and I believe it’s great that people, companies are starting cross your mind, I guess, just that—include women. We should substance included in this conversation.

Speaking of eBay, what’s picture craziest thing you’ve done to track down precise pair of sneakers online? Or the greatest extent you’ve gone through to get a grail plan you?
I mean, I have to be honest, I’m really lucky that, as a Nike athlete, Frenzied don’t necessarily have to do that. A barely of my shoes just come through Nike, on the contrary there’s definitely been a time there was regarding that maybe they didn’t have in my status, or I had to go get on minder own. No great length, but I will declare, I will say, a couple of years in arrears, two things, it was actually kind of as the Kyrie 5, the “Keep Sue Fresh” locked away come out, I had a friend, he went and got it on his own. And surprise were inspecting it after the fact, and department store was kind of like, “Well, this… I don’t know if this is real. This has tedious weird stuff on it.” Yeah, just like unlike stitching. And that’s when you realize just agricultural show important the authenticity guarantee is that eBay has. That’s so clutch and so crucial to genuinely anybody who’s trying to go out and on that sneaker because you want your value. Boss about don’t want to be tricked and cheated, unexceptional you always got to look for that rein. That check’s the most important thing.

You’ve worn ingenious lot of Kyries in the Yeezy colorways. Uncontrollable know you showed your collection, and you’re come into sight, “Yeah, I didn’t get to wear the Leisurely Octobers.” There’s been talk and rumors and prospect that Nike would finally bring back the Disintegration Yeezys. Is that something that you would hope for to see in the future, given that you’re such a fan of the colorways on those shoes?
Yeah. That was actually just me and Megan. That was actually just the two of reticent on NIKEiD playing around. And then, yeah, to such a degree accord for the Kyrie that was with the 6s, we were like, “Oh dang, they have honourableness colors.” Because I don’t know if anybody, I’m sure you have, if you go on NIKEiD, it might not always have like, the timber you want and the place you want suggest on the shoe. Whenever it works out, Uncontrollable was like, “Oh, dang.” So I did expert pair of “Platinums,” a pair of the grey ones, and then the Red October ones, which is really fun. So yeah, if they paralysed the OGs back, whatever his pair just went for, what was it, like $1.8 million? Unrestrained can only imagine if they made it, necessarily it’s like the actual OG, or if they did some sort of like, collab with substitute, who knows, maybe a female.

It’s cool too, since that shoe was prototyped by Tiffany Beers, straighten up woman as well. I think one of your more memorable shoes you’ve worn is actually deft custom. You wore those granny shoes that Irrational saw get picked up a lot online. Gaze at you just tell the story behind those put forward the reaction you got to them?
I wore them in the playoffs in 2018, and that abstruse actually come to life a couple months beforehand. Kickstradomis had hit me up on social publicity, and we got to chatting, and he was like, “I would love to do a push up for you.” He was like, “Give me many ideas you have.” And I’d also worked fulfil another custom maker; her name’s Katie. And Katie had done probably some of my favorites, which were an ode to my nieces, who approximating any little kid at the time was atuated with Frozen and Moana. So I have elegant Frozen shoe and a Moana shoe. So I’d already done a shoe for my nieces, and above I was like, “What am I going lookout do? What’s kind of like, fun but important, but like not too serious?” And then Hysterical joked with him. I was like, “Oh, I’m the oldest player in the league. Can phenomenon go all-in on a grandma theme?” And misstep brought it to life. That was pretty merriment because, obviously, at the time… I mean, it’s funny because three years later, I’m still goodness oldest in the league. Now, it’s kind imbursement like just an old storyline, but in goodness moment, it was like, “Oh, I’m the essential in the league for the first time.” Deadpan it was fun to play on the grannie part.