Vanessa Bryant’s late daughter, Gigi, turned 18 on May 1st. The internet remembered Gigi Bryant on this special day, where fans reminisced and posted pictures of her with Kobe Bryant. However, the highlight was the fitting tribute from Vanessa, who used the Black Mamba’s collaboration with Nike, to mark her daughter’s 18th birthday to the world. Now, she also decided to send a pair of the same tribute to world-famous model Kim Kardashian, who showed her gratitude for it.

Nike proudly released the Kobe 8 Protro ‘Mambacita‘ two days back to celebrate Gigi’s 18th birthday. The multi-billion company wrote on Instagram, “On 5.1 we celebrate Gianna ‘Gigi‘ Bryant’s 18th birthday and the transformational impact she had on highlighting women’s sports with the release of the Kobe 8 Protro ‘Mambacita’.“

To spread the celebration, Vanessa sent a pair of these new sneakers to Kim Kardashian, who posted a video of it on her Instagram. Kardashian wrote on her story, “Thank you so much @vanessabryant for our Gigi shoes. Happy Birthday Gigi“. 

What’s noteworthy is that this tribute comes with a good motive. According to Nike, the proceeds from the sale of Mambacita will go towards the Mambacita Sports Foundation, which is run by Vanessa to support underserved child athletes. 

Nike has come up with interesting concepts to design the shoes of the Los Angeles Lakers legend. All of his iconic shoes were re-released in the last few months. However, for Gigi, new designs were released. This time, Nike went with butterflies, as a concept to resemble Gigi. Let’s take a look at what it was the last time.

How different was the Kobe 4 Protro ‘Mambacita’? 

On May 1, 2023, Nike came up with the Kobe 4 Protro ‘Mambacita’ as a tribute to Gigi’s 17th birthday. The one thing common between the Kobe 4 Protro and Kobe 8 Protro is the black and white colors. However, there was a dash of gold in last year’s edition, for which Vanessa explained. 

In a promotional video last year, Vanessa shared, “It was important for all of us to celebrate Gigi’s legacy within these Kobe designs…When you lace these on, the gold ‘Mambacita’ heart on the sock liner is a beautiful reminder to play the game with fierceness, curiosity, and competitiveness, just like Gigi.” Vanessa has put Gigi’s unique characters on display through tributes like this. This year it was a bit different. What has not changed is the fans’ love for Bryant’s sneakers. That’s always a constant.