Cavaliers Center Jarrett Allen Can’t Find Something Important Before Playoffs

After 620 career games, Jarrett Allen wants a change.

A nine-year marriage, an inseparable connection, through thick and thin. But Allen has admitted it’s time for something else.

The Cleveland Cavaliers big man is after a new pair of sneakers.

After nine years of wearing the same Nike Kyrie 3 sneakers, officially named the “Nike Kyrie 3 TB Black White”, Allen has admitted that he needs something new. But not because he wants to, but because he has to.

“I’m on my last pair,” Allen told The Athletic, but with a sad tone.

“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.”

If you have a size 17, TB Black and White Kyrie 3, Jarrett Allen is on the hunt. He’s run out of pairs of the only shoe he’s worn for every one of his 620 career games. https://t.co/K6ckvcvZG7 pic.twitter.com/VIUam4t97M
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) April 1, 2026

However, Allen hasn’t been using the same shoes since his NBA debut—he knows better than that, especially given how critical proper footwear is for his job.

Still, it’s understandable why Allen’s time with the Nike Kyrie 3 TB Black White could be nearing its end. He wears a size 17, and that particular version of the Kyrie 3 he prefers originally dropped in 2017 and hasn’t been produced again. Nike doesn’t mass-produce sneakers larger than size 13, so it was inevitable that Allen would be looking for a new shoe.

Irving himself left Nike in December 2022 and currently has a five-year endorsement deal with Chinese sportswear brand ANTA.

Will it hinder Allen’s game, though?

Sneakers are a necessity for an NBA player, and for years, they've formed part of modern-day fashion, with players and celebrities showing off their exclusive and often expensive pairs.

“I’ve always felt that shoes are like 90% of your outfit,” rap legend Eminem said on an episode of Sneaker Shopping, an online show by lifestyle company Complex.

But for NBA players, it’s not about fashion, it’s not about style—even though their shoes are plastered all over social media. It’s about comfort and function.

Allen still hopes that someone out there has a pair stashed somewhere, and he will be ready to purchase.

“I have more colors of the same pair, but it’s the black-and-white ones that really touch my soul,” Allen said. “I practice in Kyrie 8s, or something like that, so that I can try to make these ones last as long as possible.”

But with players like Allen, so used to the shape and mould of the Kyrie 3, and the Irving brand, when he was with Nike. If he does come onto the floor with a brand-new pair, he will need to adjust to it and get used to it.

Shoes need to be broken in, you need to have a feel for them. Wearing a different pair in training is fine, but in-game situations can be different.

When the late Kobe Bryant changed the look of his signature shoe from high-tops to low-tops, he began experiencing discomfort and was injured while wearing his Kobe 8 lows in 2013, sparking a debate of whether players should wear low basketball shoes?

It led to Bryant releasing the high-top Kobe 9s to provide more ankle support. Kevin Durant suffered an Achilles injury while playing for the Golden State Warriors during the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, though KD dismissed claims that it was due to the sneakers.

More recently, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who often switched sneakers, suffered a torn Achilles tendon during the NBA Finals last season, a condition often linked to traction issues, in which the calf muscles overstrain.

So with Allen playing in the same brand of shoe night in and night out for nine years, the question remains, will it hinder him or benefit him?