On Monday, it was reported that Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan had extended his contract with Nike on a new four-year deal.
The report first came from Shams Charania of The Athletic, who called DeRozan ‘the featured face of Kobe Bryant’s iconic line.’
Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, took issue to the statement in a since-deleted Instagram comment.
“False. He is not the face of the Kobe Line. No one is.”
Vanessa Bryant responds to @ShamsCharania’s report of DeMar Derozan being face of Kobe’s Nike signature line https://t.co/wWfIrNN8Pw pic.twitter.com/qC6pkBW6O5
— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) August 1, 2022
DeRozan, who viewed Bryant as a mentor and hero, has not only patterned his game after the late legend, but exclusively wears his sneakers.
In a later comment on Instagram, Vanessa Bryant had more to say on the matter.
“LOVES that he’s a Kobe supporter but the caption is false. It’s misinformation. Only Kobe is the face of the line.”
[pickup_prop id=”26566″]
In February, Vanessa and Nike had agreed to part ways, ending Bryant’s legendary line, before the two sides agreed to continue the partnership a month later in March.
DeRozan has yet to make a public comment regarding the matter.
Stay tuned to Bulls Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=video id=01g9cx4c488mznbghpd5 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g9cx4c488mznbghpd5/01g9cx4c488mznbghpd5-b3edbb12019594c2c8b4b5c4aacc7fb3.jpg]
[listicle id=64996]