Why Did Kobe Bryant Hate Adidas? Analyzing Lakers Legend’s Beef With $43.37 Billion Worth Brand

Nike Kobes can be a distraction but they’re nowhere near the Men In Black memory eraser. There was a time when Kobe Bryant was a part of Adidas. His signature sneakers weren’t as raved about as his Nike incarnations. That hasn’t prevented Adidas from retro-releasing some of its greatest hits associated with the Black Mamba. Bryant’s once-teammate, Nick Young brought back the memory of Bryant’s notorious hatred for Adidas and the hilarious incident associated with it. But it doesn’t even scratch the surface about the late NBA legend’s sentiments for the brand.

Kobe Bryant started his NBA career as a teen when he got into a deal with Adidas. Their relations soured and ended up in an expensive and bitter split in 2002. Over the years, his animosity towards Adidas manifested in the pettiest ways.

Kobe Bryant’s divorce from Adidas

In 1996, 18-year-old Kobe Bryant started his NBA career. Like any promising rookie, he got a signature shoe deal with Adidas. It was never a match made in heaven though, no matter what his comedic commercials with Adidas portrayed.

Bryant was reportedly dismayed at Adidas’ designs. He didn’t like that the designers never took his input, possibly because he was younger than most NBA pros. Things came to a head when the Kobe 2 dropped and were a sales bomb. Bryant was done with Adidas after winning his third consecutive championship. The then 23-year-old dropped $8 million to get out of his contract with Adidas in 2002.

As per that agreement, he became a sneaker free agent, i.e., he had to wait one year before signing with a new company. He met with potential business partners, tested their prototypes, and experimented with sneaker designs during the 2002-03 season. Bryant famously wore 65 pairs of Air Jordans among the many brands he tried out.

Eventually, he signed with Nike and launched the more recognizable Nike Kobe line. This time he had design input. After initially going with the high-top trend, he started a new sneaker trend with his low-cut design. The Nike Kobes 4 to 11 became more recognizable for its namesake than the Adidas sneakers. Adidas and Bryant though never forgot what they once had.

The one that got away

Bryant knew how to hold a grudge and fuel it. Even years after his divorce from Adidas, the hate burned strong. Nick Young found out firsthand how deep the pettiness ran. He was among the many players who lined up to get their sneakers signed at Bryant’s last career game in 2016. When he saw three stripes instead of a swoosh, into a bin SwaggyP’s shoes went. Fortunately for him, he had his Nike Kobes as backups which Bryant signed without hesitation.

If that wasn’t spiteful enough, Bryant literally denied an interview once because the journalist was wearing Adidas apparel. He said the only way he’d grant an interview was if the reporter would trash Adidas on social media.

Today, Adidas is worth $43.37 billion. It lost Reebok to Bryant’s teammate at the time of the divorce, Shaquille O’Neal. Nike is on the ‘Protro’ path with support from Vanessa Bryant. But Adidas hasn’t moved on.

The biggest question used to be was if Adidas could still release its Kobe sneakers. The short answer is yes. Adidas and not Bryant’s estate owns the rights to the original designs and can retro-release them. That’s how they brought back the Crazy 8 – Bryant’s first All-Star game sneaker – during the 2024 All-Star Weekend. The Crazy 98 “Home” edition is coming back next.

It’s hard to tell what Bryant would’ve thought about Adidas re-releasing their old designs. Maybe he’d serve the ultimate petty revenge – not care.