The Sneaker That Will Define a Legacy
- Dec 1, 2015
- 7 min read
On Nov. 29, the childhood of many in their late teens and early 20s flashed before their eyes as Los Angeles Laker legend Kobe Bryant announced he would be retiring at the end of this season.
The face of the franchise wrote a poem for the Player’s Tribune reminiscing on his historic career and would go on to play later Sunday night in a game at home against the Indiana Pacers. He would shoot just 4-20 from the field, but it didn’t matter.
Bryant has been a member of the Los Angeles franchise since Jerry West traded Vlade Divac for the young 17-year old out of Lower Merion High School in 1996.
He would go on to wreck the league over the course of the past two decades on his way to five championships, two Finals MVP awards, 17 All-Star selections, 11 First Team All-NBA selections, and an NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2008 amongst a laundry list of other accolades.
According to CNN, fourteen hours after the announcement of his retirement, resale prices of tickets for his last game in the Staples Center on Apr. 13 against the Utah Jazz tripled to $1,388.60. It’s sure to be one of the most memorable games in NBA history when Bryant takes that last shot. We all remember Michael Jordan’s “last shot” (as he would go on to come out of retirement one last time with the Washington Wizards), which would dawn the “Last Shot” Jordan 14. Now, with images of Kobe Bryant’s last signature shoe with Nike leaking, we can imagine Bryant’s last shot in what will be his 11th signature shoe with the Nike brand.
Bryant came into the league under the Adidas umbrella after Sonny “Sole Man” Vaccaro was able to ink him a deal with the German athletic brand for six years, $48 million. Lacing up the Adidas Elevation EQT for his first season in the league, he would win the 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, against Michael Finley and Ray Allen to name a few, putting both he and the shoes on a worldwide stage. Bryant would go on to be named to 1997 NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
For his second season, the brand would give Bryant his own signature shoe; this time, with his name attached to it. The Adidas Kobe Bryant: KB8 (now known as the Crazy 8) released in 1998 designed with Bryant’s style of play in mind, making it a fan favorite and one of his most memorable and recognizable shoes to date.
Over the next couple of seasons, Adidas sneakers would grace the feet of Bryant on his way to winning three championships in a row from 2000 to 2002. However, for the 2001-’02 season, Adidas put out what is widely thought of as one of the most aesthetically unappealing sneakers ever with the TheKOBETWO. Bryant even became so uncomfortable with the sneaker that he would revert back to the theKOBE model from the previous season during the 2002 Finals. That would be the last season in which Bryant would suit up in Adidas sneakers.
Now, without an exclusive sneaker deal, during the 2002-’03 season Kobe Bryant would lace up some of the most sought after Air Jordan player exclusives ever in which would be Jordan himself’s last season in the league. A plot to lure Bryant to be the new face of Jordan Brand after his retirement? Maybe, but Bryant would go on to end his “sneaker free agency” after the season and sign with Nike, which signed LeBron James to a deal that offseason as well.
While James received his own signature shoe for his sophomore campaign with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2004, it wasn’t until 2005 that Bryant would get his own signature shoe as well; and did he make the most of it.
Bryant put on one of the most legendary performances in NBA history in the Nike Zoom Kobe 1 when he torched the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006 for 81 points. The performance ranks second only to Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point effort in 1962.
After wearing the Nike Zoom Kobe II for the 2006-’07 season, Bryant and Eric Avar, who helped design Bryant’s first signature shoe, teamed back up for the third installment in the Kobe signature line. It was on this model that the Black Mamba snake, Bryant’s favorite, was incorporated and the nickname was born. Avar’s magic would help Bryant lead his Lakers to the NBA Finals, although losing to the Boston Celtics, and secure him his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
Bryant would go on to best himself in the Nike Zoom Kobe IV and avenge a Finals lost from the previous season as well as take home his first Finals MVP honors. The shoe incorporated Bryant’s widely-known fandom of soccer with a soccer boot design as well as Nike’s new Flywire technology. Aside from winning his fourth NBA championship, Bryant would also set a then-record of 61 points at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks in the Nike Zoom Kobe IV.
To follow up his 2008-’09 performance, Bryant would lead his Lakers back to the Finals and take home Finals MVP honors once again in the Nike Zoom Kobe V. Although commonplace in today’s sneaker world, the shoe released in an unheard of 33 colorways.
It was then that the Kobe line had reached its peak of popularity that would catapult the Nike Zoom Kobe VI to unheard of levels of hype and cement Bryant’s place amongst some of the great sneaker lines of previous.
(According to StockX) Kobe VI Barcelona Mango: $1,230; Kobe VI FC Barcelona Home: $1,156; Kobe VI Grinch: $659; Kobe VI All-Star Game Orange County: $322; These are just some of the most sough after Kobe VIs and their resell prices of double to nearly ten times the initial $135 price tag.
With the Kobe line elevating itself to a new level of stardom, the Nike Zoom Kobe VII incorporated the new “Kobe System” with the help of even Kanye West himself.
The shoe featured the inclusion of removable inserts. The “Attack Strong” insert was equipped with a high ankle cuff, making it more suitable for a physical style of play. On the other hand, there was the “Attack Fast” insert which was lighter with a lower ankle cuff, making quick movements easier due to its light weight.
The stress on making the Kobe line lighter became a key for designer Eric Avar and Bryant as Bryant’s health became more of a priority in the later stage of his career.
Even with the models becoming lighter and lighter, with the Kobe 8 weighing in at an unprecedented 9.6 ounces, Father Time would eventually catch up to Bryant. On Apr. 12, 2013, Bryant tore his Achilles in the Kobe 8 in a home game against the Warriors. In one of the most iconic moments of his career, Bryant would still make his way to the free throw line to make two key free throws for the win before exiting the game with the help of teammates.
“I made a move I’ve made a million times, and (the Achilles) just popped,” Bryant said after the game. At 34, Bryant was playing 38.6 minutes per game, almost single-handedly attempting to will his Lakers to the playoffs one last time. They would go on to make the playoffs, but without Bryant they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs; their last time making an appearance in the playoffs.
Bryant would will his way back onto the court after undergoing surgery to repair his torn Achilles, and Nike would make it one hell of a party.
The Nike Kobe IX was the first Kobe model since the Nike Zoom Kobe III to be designed as a high-top shoe. It was also the first Nike Basketball shoe to feature Nike’s new Flyknit material as its upper. Although the shoe released in an engineered mesh version as well, the Flyknit model became a hit amongst fans. The nine stitches along the back collar of the shoe symbolized the ninth installment of the Kobe line with Nike and Bryant’s rehabilitation from offseason Achilles surgery.
With rumors of Nike retroing the Kobe line, a “Prelude Pack” was rolled out through late 2014 and into early 2015. Each week a different model, with a patch on the insoles commemorating one of Bryant’s signature performances in each shoe, was retrod at select Footlocker stores and online on Nike’s site.
However, the party was cut short and Bryant would fail to finish the season with the Lakers citing that Bryant needed time to heal a hampering knee injury.
Bryant would return for the 2014-’15 season and would become the oldest player to ever record 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a single game at the age of 36 in the Kobe IX against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 30, 2014. However, another injury would cut his season short. This time, the culprit was a torn rotator cuff suffered in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Although recent Kobe models fail to have some of the sentimental value of previous ones due to Bryant’s limited action over the past couple of seasons, this Kobe 11 is sure to be memorable. Honestly, the design of the shoe doesn’t even matter. He doesn’t have to win an All-Star MVP award or score 81 points in the Kobe 11. He doesn’t even have to lead this team to a memorable playoff run, or win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. No, none of that is really necessary.
What the Kobe 11 will be known for is being the shoe that Bryant wore as he warmed up one last time. Or as he drove baseline and switched hands under the rim, as we’ve seen him do throughout his illustrious career. Even if he posts up on the right block, takes two dribbles, turns around, fades away and the shot misses the basket as his has seemed to do more often than we’ve become accustomed to this season, it’ll be one of the last times one of the all-time greats does it. Enjoy your last 66 games Mr. Bryant. It’s been one hell of a show to watch.
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