Kobe's Impact on Sneaker Free Agency

Kobe Bryant will forever live on in basketball stardom. With five NBA titles, three MVP awards, and two Olympic gold medals, plus many other awards, Kobe Bryant left behind an athletic legacy that very few will successfully match. Hardwood accomplishments aside, Kobe was also a pioneer in the world of sneakers. His path to his successful partnership with Nike was not as straightforward as sneaker journeys go today. But, without such a turbulent journey, a Kobe and Nike partnership might not have existed, extinguishing an entire catalog of amazing basketball sneakers.  

It takes a special breed of athlete to make it to the NBA right out of high school. LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and Tracy McGrady are just some out of the few to make a name for themselves without stepping foot onto a college campus and have still made major impacts on the game of basketball. Kobe Bryant, just 18 at the time, was already scouted by coaches from the league, eager to hone in on his talents and bring him to the pros. 

Privy to Kobe’s future potential and star power, Sonny Vaccaro, a major key player in Michael Jordan signing to Nike, helped Kobe Bryant ink his first-ever sneaker deal with adidas. Many were hesitant to sign such a young athlete without knowing his full abilities when in the league. “Nike and all the other contenders didn’t want to mess with a high school guy,” said Vaccaro in an interview for his 30 For 30 ESPN film. Vaccaro, who was scouting for adidas at the time, told adidas executives, “I’m going to give him a million dollars a year.” Back in 1996, million-dollar contracts were rare, so giving such a deal to a high schooler was a major gamble. Luckily for adidas and Vaccaro, it was a gamble that helped them cash in big.

After entering the league in 1996, Kobe made quite the name for himself his rookie year. He was the youngest player at the time but already made the All-Star team and won the 1997 Slam Dunk contest, all while wearing adidas sneakers. This marketing moment helped lift the German brand into the basketball realm, outside of its soccer-centric territory. Kobe was laced in the Three Stripes’ latest basketball gear, such as the Top Ten 2000 and EQT Elevation, and became the face of the brand. From commercials to magazine ads, adidas was cashing in their Kobe ticket. To build off of Kobe’s attention-drawing style of play even more, adidas designed him his very own signature shoe for his second year in the league, the KB8. 

Down the years, as Kobe was rising as one of the best players in the league, his sneakers needed a redesign. As adidas was cutting ties with their “Feet You Wear” technology that Kobe helped promote earlier in his career, he got a slew of newly designed sneakers catered more to him. With a logo of Kobe’s profile, his signature line started with a sneaker designed after his favorite car at the time, the Audi TT Roadster. Dubbed the Kobe One, he debuted in 2000 and wore it during his first championship win with the Lakers, helping the new line of sneakers make a name for themselves out the gate. 

But it was downhill from there as the Kobe Two, which released a year later, took a whole new direction in design. The unfavorable look is still talked about today, as fashion editorial, GQ, wrote an entire article titled: Never Forget the Ugliest Sneakers Kobe Bryant Ever Wore. Kobe himself hated the boxy shoe and it is rumored that his distaste caused him to buy himself out of his contract with adidas. According to sneaker blog Sole Collector, Kobe paid a “reported $8 Million dollars to get out of his adidas contract.” If you weren’t matching his criteria, his sauve swagger, then ties must be severed.

Kobe’s liberation from adidas came with a contractual consequence. By signing out of his contract early, he legally couldn’t sign to another brand for a full year. This lack of obligation and commitment to a brand led to a free-for-all of sneaker companies trying to get their foot into Mamba’s vision. Any initial doubts around signing Kobe early on had all dissipated after his effects on adidas Basketball. 

When Kobe was a free agent after leaving adidas, Jordan Brand, Reebok, and even Converse, all gave Kobe player exclusive colorways of their popular models, such as the Air Jordan 8, Reebok Question, and Magic Johnson’s classic Converse Weapon. But ultimately, it was Nike that snagged him with a whopping $40 million contract in 2003. From there, Kobe consistently pushed Nike designer Eric Avar, who’s responsible for the Nike Air Penny and Foamposite, to ensure that every shoe matched his style of play and looked good during the process. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Avar mentioned that “Kobe’s level intensity is off the charts when he’s on the court and…it translates to the development of his signature shoes as well, even during the creative storytelling process.” 

Kobe Bryant was more than just a great basketball player, but also a pioneer in the world of footwear. Although some of his footwear selections were sometimes questionable, it led him to his perfect fit with Nike, a relationship 17-years strong. The novelty of Kobe’s sneaker journey has now become normalized, as players no longer settle for what they are offered from brands. Such examples can be found from James Harden (from Nike to adidas) to Dwayne Wade (from Jordan Brand to Li-Ning). Thanks to Kobe Bryant, a more lucrative and creatively stimulating relationship has been established between basketball players and brands.