From welcome to the NBA moment to passing the torch, Stephen Curry has repeatedly shared the influence of late Kobe Bryant. So, when it comes to honoring the Lakers legend, the Warriors superstar did it with his free agency tour. But the latest tribute had to be cut short due to the lingering injury issue.

Against the Utah Jazz, Steph Curry decided to lace up a rare “Sail” Kobe 6 PE originally debuted by Vanessa Bryant. The white shoes feature hidden details, such as the legendary “Kobe Code” dots on the midsole. In the third quarter, those shoes were changed after a knee-to-knee contact with Keyonte George. The contact also led to the Warriors’ superstar tweaking his ankle.

The 37-year-old needed a change of sneakers in order to feel more comfortable with his knee issues. Against the Wolves, Stephen Curry already complained about soreness in both of his knees. And he even missed the second back-to-back game in Minnesota. It made sense for him to tread with caution. The 4x NBA champion made this moment memorable by wearing Wade 12 ‘Liberty’.

Since Dwyane Wade is a minority owner of the Utah Jazz, the shout-out was very obvious. During the free agency tour, Steph has worn Li-Ning Way of Wade 12 before. Earlier this month, against the Miami Heat, Curry had Way of Wade 12 ‘Obsidian’, a black colorway to celebrate Wade. But again, the change of shoes doesn’t mean a sign of disrespect to Kobe’s legacy.

After Stephen Curry’s breakup with Under Armour, he’s worn all types of shoes, and this game was no exception. In fact, Kobe’s signature shoes have been the main feature during this period. It started with the Nike Kobe 6 “Mambacita” against the Spurs, and since then, he has repeated Kobe shoes 8 more times.

Complex has been tracking what Curry is wearing throughout sneaker free agency. The reason for the love of Kobe is well-documented.

During the promotion of his new book, Shot Ready, Stephen Curry recounted a preseason encounter with the Lakers legend that left him physically overpowered and humbled.

That was the “welcome to the NBA” moment; ever since, the love and respect have remained between the two. Fast forward to the 2013-14 preseason, Kobe decided to guard Curry full-court, pressuring him the whole way.

Interestingly, undersized Curry shook him off for a second and let a clean 3-pointer fly. The ever-resilient Kobe broke into a smile and patted the Warriors superstar. That same season, Curry earned his first All-Star nod. “That was kind of his passing-the-torch moment back to me,” Curry said on the Fallon Show.

Not the only time when Stephen Curry changed his shoes mid-game

Due to ongoing knee issues, the 2x MVP needs to be careful, as the Warriors have already lost Jimmy Butler to a season-ending ACL injury. Coming to Minnesota, the injury trouble remained, and in the first of the back-to-back games, Curry had to change his shoes. He began the night with new Adidas shoes called the Adidas Crazy Energy Plus.

But during the game, the Warriors’ superstar decided to put away the three stripes shoes. Instead, he chose Anta Kai 3 in the ‘Chinese New Year’ colorway. His performance of shooting 3-11 from the field warranted a change. The switch to Kyrie Irving’s signature sneaker led to him scoring 14 points in the second half and finishing with 26.

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The confidence in Anta Kai 3 also stems from his 38-point outing in Dallas.

In that game, Stephen Curry scored 8 of 15 from 3-point range on the night the Warriors’ superstar became the first in NBA history to attempt 10,000 shots from beyond the arc. The 4x NBA champion has already stated that the goal of trying new sneakers is to pay tribute and not to send a message to potential business partners.

But legacy brands Nike and Adidas will be noticed since Curry didn’t finish the game in their shoes. Chinese brands Anta and Li-Ning will breathe a sigh of relief and will potentially use this to entice the Warriors superstar.