Portsmouth fashion designer’s hat worn by NBA star Kyrie Irving

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Portsmouth entrepreneur Mike Rivers Jr. got quite the surprise earlier this month from one of the NBA’s biggest stars.

Kyrie Irving, the 8-time All-Star and NBA champion, was pictured on the Dallas Mavericks’ Instagram donning a black and white crocheted hat that Rivers made specifically for Irving.

Rivers said he had no idea Uncle Drew would ever wear it, but it fell right into place like one of the point guard’s silky jumpers.

“I grew up watching Allen Iverson and then Kyrie kind of took the Allen Iverson to the next level, so I’ve always been a fan of Kyrie,” said Rivers, who was born and raised in Portsmouth “But also I do pay attention to what celebrities are wearing. After I noticed he wears those hats a lot I said I’m gonna design something for him, give it a shot.”

The bucket-style hat took about a month to complete and actually glows in the dark thanks to a special type of yarn. It also has Irving’s jersey number: 11.

“Instead of sending a picture or an illustration, I took a chance and just made it,” Rivers added. “[Kyrie’s people] saw it, they said ‘well we’ll show it to him, it looks great but it’s up to him,” but I got the call back saying that he loved it.”

Not long after, Irving was wearing the hat on the way to the Mavs’ Jan. 5 game against the Blazers. He’d go on to lead Dallas to a 139-103 victory without Luka Doncic, scoring a team-high 24 points.

Maybe it was the magic of the hat?

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The moment was really fulfilling for Rivers, a 1995 Deep Creek High grad who started creating fashion items back in high school. He says he gets his artistic side from his dad, and the more creative side from his mom.

His pieces include varsity jackets, pants, shoes and more.

“But I did on the side like a hobby, I didn’t really promote it, I didn’t really get it out there. But to the people I did show it to they said ‘man that’s really creative.’ And I just kept up with it, kept going, kept going, until I perfected my craft.”

Rivers says one of his biggest inspirations is the late Virgil Abloh, a pioneering figure who became the first person of African descent to lead Louis Vuitton’s menswear line, a title now held by Virginia Beach’s Pharrell Williams.

“It’s sad that he’s not here anymore, but he was definitely a trend setter that I looked up to … and Pharrell as well, I look up to all those guys.”

Going forward, Rivers says he has few more special items in the works, including some for other celebrities, with new merchandise coming this spring and summer.

You can follow Rivers on social media and through his website, mikeriversjr.com.

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