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Yesterday, Kobe Bryant announced this will be his last season in the NBA. By many measures one of the all-time greats, by some measures the best player of this generation, Jelly Bean Jr. has been the leading man on the Hollywood hardwood for nearly two decades.
Before he was the man though, he was the boy. Literally. Entering the league at 17 years of age, his parents had to sign his contract with the Lakers. His early days in LA would be scored by an adidas endorsement that spawned two separate signature lines and a variety of EQT models that would also earn KB8 acclaim.
As the first part of our five-piece #KobeWeek series, we profile the Black Mamba’s early days as a young high flyer in the Three Stripes. Check out his best kicks and commercials in the pages below.
Rookie Rotation
In this day and age, a player has to make an All-Star team or sign with a relative unknown to score a signature shoe within their first few seasons. Kobe? That man was hawking kicks on court and in commercials for the Three Stripes since day 1. Donning the adidas EQT Top Ten 2000, adidas EQT Top Ten 2010 and adidas EQT Elevation during his rookie campaign, all three shoes would have unofficial attachment to KB8, with a shoe of said nickname coming during his sophomore season.
