Kobe Bean. It's hard to explain how the passing of someone you had never met can affect you. But on January 26, 2020, we were hit with a lot of emotions. When we heard the news about the helicopter crash in Calabasas that took the lives of 9 people including Kobe and Gianna Bryant, it was a lot to process. Kobe Bryant died at age 41. When he died I was 41. The basketball world and all of its fans collectively felt the anger and sadness from that tragedy. The city of L.A mourned them with murals and public vigils. The league mourned them with moments of silence and moments of stillness during the first 24 seconds of basketball games that took place after he was gone. The nation remembered and celebrated him by wearing his jersey and supporting the Bryant family.
I hated him his entire professional career. If you are a true sports fan in Arizona, you learn about and believe in “Beat L.A.” at a very young age. We don't like cold weather, we don't know how to drive in the rain and we don't root for the Dodgers, Lakers or any other LA team. Kobe beat my Phoenix Suns a lot more than he lost to them. I was glad when Steve Nash took the MVP honor over Kobe in 2006, even if Mamba deserved it more. However, in 2008 and 2012, Kobe represented team USA in the Olympics. It was the first time I rooted for Kobe. After the U.S. was embarrassed by Argentina in 2004, Kobe carried team USA. I remember watching him play in red, white and blue.
Watching him through the lens of a fan confirmed what I already knew. He’s incredible. Kobe finished his legendary career on April 13th, 2016. He scored 60 against the Jazz in one of the most memorable games I will ever watch in my life. It was easy for me to acknowledge how important to the game he was after he retired.
Kobe Bryant moments are some of the top moments in NBA history. But I couldn't give him his flowers when he was still competing against the Suns. I just couldn't do it when he was on the Lakers roster. 4 years later, he was gone.
MJ will always be the Goat. But Kobe has to be #2. Phil Jackson might be the most qualified man on earth to weigh in on the GOAT debate. He has spent more time watching the two icons play basketball than anyone else on earth. He gives the edge to MJ only because he has bigger hands and could palm the ball easier. MJ has said that Kobe stole all his moves and KB said that if there were a player that could beat him one on one, he retired in Utah after that last shot in ‘98.
Kobe taught us that a relentless work ethic can overcome most anything. Kobe taught us that you don't have to be the tallest or the strongest. Kobe couldn't jump like Vince or dribble like Iverson but he was the culmination of relentless dedication and hard work. He was a student of the game and knew his opponents because he studied them. He was laser focused on winning and he knew what had to go into the process to achieve the outcome. He inspired a generation.
We are left with his legacy. We are left with the wisdom he shared with us. We have his interviews and his game footage. There are murals in major cities and in small town schools that let us see his face and remember him. AND we have the shoes. Kobe’s are regarded as the best hoop shoes that Nike offers. Nike has more signature athletes now than ever before. Today's athletes can walk into a Footlocker or Shoe Palace and stand in front of the sneaker wall and choose from endless choices. But they won't see Kobe’s. Kobe’s never make it past the SNKRS app. Cause Nike knows. Nike knows that if they flood the market with Kobe’s, they will cut the legs out from their other signature athletes. No one is picking a pair of Luka’s or Ja’s or KD’s if a pair of protros are on the shelf. Kobe’s are the most desirable on court hoop shoes in the market space right now. But how did we get to this point?
Most old school sneaker heads will remember when Kobe’s sat on shelves. NO ONE wanted them. In 1997, Kobe was with Adidas and we got his first signature shoe the KB8. It wasn't a bad shoe. But Adidas couldn't have followed it up with anything worse then what we got. We saw abominations like the KB III and the two moonboots, “The Kobe'' and “The Kobe Two” from 2000 and 2001. These offerings were so awful in appearance and in performance, that KB wouldn't even wear them. Then Kobe signed with Nike. We got all new low profile silhouettes. But they sat. The shoe that today's hoopers pay $300- $400 on the secondary market, back in the early 2000’s, they sat. Bricks. On shelves. Everywhere.
But Kobes are interesting. In the sneaker community, everyone knows what a retro is. But a “protro” might be the most misunderstood word in hoop sneaker culture. You hear the word thrown around with every Kobe release. The word “protro” was coined by Kobe himself as a shortened version of “performance retro”. Nike would keep the classic design of the shoe while changing and upgrading the internals to the most innovative technologies that Nike has developed. The protro gave customers the look they wanted with the performance edge they needed. Brilliant. And very fitting for an athlete that was relentlessly chasing greatness.
The protro concept and the legacy of Kobe Bryant has made his signature shoes extremely sought after and expensive on the secondary market. Nike has recently given us a lot of Kobes due largely to Vanessa Bryant and her partnership with Nike. And we have been given absolute bangers in the last month. This is a great time to be a sneaker buyer. The sneaker market has crashed. Dunks and Jordan have been saturated. Quality has dipped…lots of reasons. Styles that instantly sold out a few years ago are now sitting and can even be found on sale at outlets. Not Kobes.
A few short years ago, Jordan 1 and Jordan 4 demand was at an all time high. For Kobeys, the 4 and the 6 are definitely the most desired. If the 4 was the Kobey that put his signature line on the map, the 6 was the silhouette that proved they were the pinnacle of on court shoes. Recently we have gotten a few of the best offerings of both. In December of ‘23 we got the 6 Reverse Grinch. Walk into any AAU tournament and you will see this shoe on every court in the building. On Kobe Day, (Feb 8th) we got the 8 in “Court Purple” and the slept on “Aqua”. April gave us the 6 “Italian Camo”, 4 “Philly” , 8 “Venice Beach”. May had the 8 “Mambacita”. June was the 4 “Girl Dad” with its beautiful storytelling and Incredibly buttery suede that reminded us of the Travis 6 Olive. The Girl Dad is based on the Eagles Beanie that he wore with Gianna to his last lakers game. The orange insert reminds us of his jacket from that night. “Girl Dad” is embroidered on the tongue in silver. Its an amazing tribute shoe to one of the best to ever do it and it celebrates his relationship with Gigi. They can be found close to retail. If you don't have this shoe. Buy it. And make sure you wear it.