Kyrie Irving Covers Nike Shoe Logo W/ 'I Am Free' Sticker After Split From Brand

Kyrie Irving gave the middle finger to Nike with a message on his signature shoes Wednesday night ... covering the swoosh logo and etching "I am Free Thank You God I am" on a patch of tape after his breakup with the sneaker giant.

Irving hit the court at Barclays Center for the first time since becoming a shoe-free agent on Monday ... and while he decided to keep wearing his own kicks, he made sure to distance himself from his former partner.

Irving rocked the Nike Kyrie 3 PE in the "Raygun" colorway for the matchup against the Charlotte Hornets ... but if you look closely, the side logo is covered with black tape.

Kyrie switched kicks mid-game -- which is not uncommon for NBA players -- and the second pair also had the Swoosh scribbled out with black marker.

You'll recall ... the brand suspended its relationship with Kyrie after he tweeted a link to a film containing antisemitic content ... saying there was no place for hate speech at Nike.

Irving, however, continued to don Nike sneakers during games ... though it's unclear if he was contractually obligated to or if the decision was a personal choice.

Right after news broke that the Kyrie era was over at Nike, the 30-year-old tweeted out a GIF that read, "There's nothing more priceless than being free."