Nike and Kyrie Irving Tease "Bruce Lee" Inspired Sneakers

In another fusion between martial arts theatre, the NBA and Nike, we got the ”Bruce Lee” Nike Kyrie 6. It has as much character as the martial artist that it pays homage to in sneaker form. The colorway was inspired by one of Bruce Lee’s movies in 1978, “The Game of Death” where he donned his famous yellow jumpsuit. 

Kyrie 3’s seems like the starting point for this new iteration if we look at it in terms of design with major color and graphical changes. For instance, red dominates and livens up most of the shoe with black being its counterpart or compliment. The yellow mixes things up and steals the show with four slashes cutting across the black swoosh. Of course, this is a reference to Bruce Lee’s ending fight in his 1973 movie “Enter the Dragon” that left him with four scratches across his face. 

This isn’t the first time that Nike had found inspiration for new kicks through Kung Fu or Bruce Lee. Kobe Bryant effectively launched his fifth line of sneakers during a seasonal basketball game, Lakers vs Nuggets in 2010. That time around, yellow was the dominant color, referencing Bruce Lee’s yellow jumpsuit more outstandingly. Even then, Nike put in the scratches but on the toe area. Kyrie 6 is no but copycat by the way, as this latest homage gives an entirely new vibe. 

The homage didn’t end there, in 2017 Nike released the “Mamba Mentality” Kyrie 3. Again Bruce Lee inspired. This was an inspiration of inspiration, inspired by Kyrie as a 17-year-old when he laced up in Kobe’s colorways at a Nike event in California and inspired by Bruce Lee’s 1973 and 1978 movies. That’s a lot of inspiration. Homage to Kobe was in the upper snakeskin pattern and the samurai sign on the lateral side and homage to Bruce Lee was with the four scratches on the side panel. 

Nike has yet to announce an official release date or price. 

Written By: Craig Volney