Kyrie Irving is urging fans who purchased his SpongeBob SquarePants x Nike Kyrie 5s back in 2019 to hold onto them for longer.
In a recent interview shared on X by Nice Kicks, Irving looked back on one of his greatest Nike collabs: The SpongeBob SquarePants collection. “I pray that you have those SpongeBob kept up somewhere safe,” Irving said. “Those are like a selling piece, art piece. I’m telling you right now, those shoes will be worth something in the next 10-20 years.”
And he’s absolutely correct, because they’re already worth a lot more than their original retail price.
The sneakers dropped on August 10, 2019, with adult colorways selling for $130. In 2026, those same shoes sell for $400 a pair on StockX. Do the math, and you’ll see that’s a 207% jump seven years later.
While they came in many designs and colors, the flagship sneaker, which coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Nickelodeon cartoon, was the SpongeBob colorway, a bright Opti Yellow shoe with a porous finish that represented the character’s skin. That was the favorite, and one of Hypebeast’s Top 10 Sneakers of the Year, but there was also a Patrick Star Kyrie 5, with a Lotus Pink mesh with a bubbles-in-water effect, a Squidward Kyrie 5 with a Frosted Spruce upper, a Sandy Cheeks Kyrie Low 2, with earthy tones and a Mr. Krabs Kyrie Low 2, a Red-tinted colorway. The Pineapple House colorway released a few months later in October 2019 as a bonus release.
And Kyrie’s prediction isn’t just guesswork, of course. Character-themed Nike collaborations tend to get more valuable as the years go by. So, these, which already sold out instantly, will become super rare eventually.
And fans agree too. On Instagram, sneakerheads have shared similar thoughts. “Best Nike collabs EVER was with Kyrie!!!” wrote one fan. “I have all,” posted another. “Got the SpongeBobs and the Patricks for my son!” one parent shared. “Got a few pairs on ice,” said another, who clearly understands what Kyrie Irving is referring to.
But not every comment was positive, of course. “These shoes were intended for kids. None of these color-ways would match with any of the outfits I own,” said one sneakerhead.
In December 2022, Nike and Kyrie Irving parted ways, and Irving signed with ANTA in July 2023, even becoming the company’s Chief Creative Officer of Basketball. His third signature shoe with the new brand, the KAI 3, arrived in Jan 2026 and was even worn by Stephen Curry on the court.
So, no, there will probably never be another SpongeBob x Kyrie Nike drop.
A sealed pair of SpongeBob Kyrie 5s, twenty years from now, will be considered a collector’s piece or maybe even art. If you have them, take his advice and hold onto them.
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