With the NBA world still reeling from the tragic death of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his longtime sponsor and partner Nike has announced that it has pulled all Bryant-related merchandise from its website.
I can confirm this. After talking to people at Nike, there is talk about the “Championship” Protro still releasing on 2/7, but with so many things in flux, this could change. https://t.co/h1qMMJaKZR
— Jacques Slade (@kustoo) January 28, 2020
Bryant’s shoe line remains one of the most highly regarded and widely beloved shoes in the NBA, as multiple players frequently wear “Kobes” in game on a night-to-night basis.
Beyond that, Bryant’s fans around the world eagerly anticipated his new shoe releases — as he has had some of the most influential basketball sneakers of all time. Specifically, his Nike Zoom Kobe 4s helped to legitimize low-top basketball shoes, which previously had held the incorrect stigma that they don’t protect against injuries as well as high-tops.
Bryant’s most recent release was the AD NXT, which debuted in August of 2019.
Nike is likely pulling all Kobe merchandise in order to curtail opportunistic (and morally reprehensible) resellers, who will surely be looking to make a fortune online by selling Bryant's signature speakers where their demand is at its highest.
This is the right move from Nike, as they want to protect fans from exorbitant price-gouging while protecting the legacy of one of the greatest players in NBA history as well as perhaps the greatest member of the Lakers ever – no small feat for a franchise with a superstar-filled roster of all-timers and icons.
The tragic passing of Kobe Bryant will reverberate around the league for years to come, especially coming on the heels of Lakers superstar LeBron James passing him on the all-time scoring list one night before.
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