Kobe Bryant helped form one of the most popular shoe lines in all of basketball with Nike, but players are now having a difficult time getting their hands on his signature line.
Of course, the pact with Nike came to an end in April when Vanessa Bryant and the apparel company severed ties after the contract with the late Kobe Bryant ended. Thus, the line of shoes is no longer in production with no new contract in place.
Players around the league are having to find unique ways to source Kobes, and some have even spent large sums of money to acquire them. For instance, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Josh Giddey has dropped upward of $1,500 on pairs of Kobes, according to a recent story by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
But, Giddey seemingly lucked into acquiring several pairs of them.
Thunder equipment manager Wilson Taylor was digging around the team storage facility prior to the start of the season. He happened to find five pairs of Thunder-colored Kobes initially intended for Derek Fisher, who played in OKC from 2012-2014. Within minutes, Giddey was at the facility looking to secure them.
(Taylor) pulled out his phone, took a picture and texted it to Josh Giddey.
“No way!” Giddey wrote back. “Can I come right now?” … Giddey, cradling the boxes like a child on Christmas, looked at Taylor and said: “Can I have them all?”
Kobe Bryant had a profound impact on the game of basketball and helped inspire an entire generation of players, with Giddey among them. They want to pay homage to the Los Angles Lakers legend, and an easy way is by wearing his shoes.
ESPN reported that Vanessa Bryant and Nike are still in talks about a new contract but they have yet to formalize an agreement. The shoes could eventually be entered back into production but, for now, players will need to continue to be creative in securing their favorite Kobes.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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