When Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant passed away in January, not only did he leave a legacy on the court, but off-court too. During his two-decade career, Kobe followed his idol Michael Jordan and like him, he cemented his place among the all-time greats.
But another thing that he took inspiration from Jordan was his sneaker legacy. One of Kobe’s biggest fans, DeMar DeRozan, recently said that Kobe’s sneaker line is soon going to be at the top with the Jordan line.
He said, “It’s going to be up there with Jordan. The Kobe line is going to be the next line you’re definitely going to talk about. His legacy, how he changed the game of footwear just like Jordan did before, taking the shoe game to a whole different level.”
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“It’s going to be up there with Jordan.” –@DeMar_DeRozan on Kobe’s sneaker legacy pic.twitter.com/jpf2vBsnn4
— The Undefeated (@TheUndefeated) October 28, 2020
Recently, Rockets forward P. J. Tucker revealed that DeRozan is the biggest Kobe fan he knows and said that “DeMar’s got more Kobe’s than anybody in the world.” So if anyone knows about the Mamba’s sneaker legacy, it’s DeRozan.
ALSO READ – DeMar DeRozan Replies to Rumors of Him Wanting to Leave San Antonio Spurs
Kobe Bryant: Iconic sneaker legacy
Throughout his career, Kobe had some of the best signature shoes the league has seen.
After signing with Adidas at the beginning of his career, Kobe then paid millions to cancel it. But during that partnership, he had some unique signature shoes with Adidas. While he had some memorable ones like Adidas The KOBE and the KB8, there were some infamous ones, like The Kobe 2.
After he canceled his Adidas contract, he was a sneaker free-agent for a season. So during that 2003-04 season, Kobe wore some of the most iconic shoes of his career. They include the Air Jordan 3s, the Jordan 8s, and the Reebok Question Yellow Toe.
After this began his partnership with Nike. His first signature shoe was the Air Zoom Kobe 1. It was launched in January 2006 and in the same month; he had his best-ever performance. Wearing the Zoom Kobe 1s, Bryant dropped 81 on Jalen Rose and the Raptors, etching his name into basketball history as one of the greatest scorers of all time.
Every signature shoe he has with Nike is iconic in its own way. He also had some unique commercials for these shoes. From the Muppets inspired Kobe V commercial to the one with him as Mozart, they were all memorable.
Kobe may not be with us anymore, but his legacy will forever will on. Mamba Forever!
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ALSO READ – Lakers’ Jeanie Buss Reveals the Special Reason Kobe Bryant Brought Gianna to a Lunch with Her
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