During his 20-year career in the NBA and even after retirement, Kobe Bryant collaborated with various sneaker brands. After he paid $8 million to get out of a contract with Adidas, another major brand signed The Black Mamba to a long-term deal and the rest is history. He did so in order to not only endorse but also create some of the coolest products to be used on and off a basketball court. 3 years after his unfortunate death, the $36.8 billion brand is back in the limelight to produce a new set of products carrying the legend’s name.

Interestingly, the news has generated mixed reactions from the fans’ side.

Nike’s History with Kobe Bryant

Kobe had earlier signed a six-year contract with Adidas during the early stages of his career. He soon switched to Nike in 2003 and would stay with the company till his demise. Nike was one of the few companies that did not terminate its contract with the player after certain allegations were made against him in 2004. They did not, however, use his image or market a new shoe under his name for over a year.

The Black Mamba has created eight generations of ‘Zoom Kobe’ by working together with the company. This also included three versions of ‘Nike Kobe’. Bryant’s official signature line stopped with the ‘Nike Kobe 11’ after the player retired from the NBA in 2016. Even then, the company did not stop producing the older models. Now, another major development had taken place.

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Kobe Bryant’s shoe line will be re-established following a short hiatus by Nike. During the company’s Q4 – FY23 conference call last Thursday, Nike CEO John Donahoe announced the news as part of the former Los Angeles Lakers star’s 20-year anniversary with Nike. The new set of sneakers is set to release before August 24th, which is celebrated as ‘Kobe Bryant Day’ in Los Angeles and Orange County. However, fans weren’t that excited after the update.

Fans seem divided with the latest update

Bryant’s iconic Nike sneakers were available either in very low or no quantity, following his tragic passing in a helicopter crash in January 2020. This was also in part due to a strained relationship between the company and Vanessa Bryant after the legend’s untimely demise, which probably happened because Nike releases Kobe’s ‘Mambacita’ sneakers series without her permission.

Fans had mixed reactions to the news after it was shared on Instagram by Complex Sneakers, a news handle with over 1.8 Million Followers.

Some were excited by the news, with one user commenting, “Everyone should be able to buy Kobe’s at a relatively good price.” Some criticized Nike’s decision, with a user commenting. “Love it when big brands make money off of dead celebrities.” Another fan wrote, “Resellers are going to ruin it for everyone tho.”

Other comments left by the people on the post include:

“Give all the money to his daughters and wife”

“I’m glad because most of us love the shoes but I hope proceeds go to the foundation. Also dislike that this was brought up alongside their company’s Q4 earnings. A lot of shady business by Nike tbh.”

Kobe Bryant’s partnership with Nike is known to be one of the best collaborations in the history of the industry. It is second only to Michael Jordan‘s ‘Air Jordan’. While the fans may be divided over the recent news, it is nice to know that the basketball legend continues to be remembered.

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