It’s been five years since Kobe Bryant was stolen from the world too quickly due to a helicopter crash in Calabasas. But somehow, his story continued to grow, sewing deep into the fabric of Los Angeles, where the sun is still purple and gold.
This week, the Adidas EQT Top 10 2000 sneakers (which Bryant discarded during his first NBA start) were rolled out to surprise $240,000 through SCP auctions.
Both shoes were signed and the exact night and photos matched: January 28, 1997, Road with the Dallas Mavericks. The price tag makes them the second most expensive Kobe shoe ever sold.
He was only 18 years old when he first started the game.
At the time, Kobe was still raw. He had hints of bouncing, bravery and biting of that mamba. That night in Dallas he dropped 12 points in 32 minutes, five-11. There’s nothing flashy. The first of many seeds planted on a 20-year journey led him to take him from a big-eyed rookie to five-time NBA champion, final MVP, Olympic gold medalist and symbols of uncompromising greatness.
Ironically, the shoes were adidas. It wasn’t Nike. Adidas signed Bryant directly at Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, and first saw the vision. He later moved to Nike, where the Kobe Line became the gold standard for basketball. We trailed only the iconic Air Jordan, which has global influence and popularity. Today, more NBA players wear Kobe Bryant Nikes more than any other shoe.
However, these adida kicks are different. They are from the start before the Mamba nickname, before the championship, before the Figueroa parade. They represent teenagers chasing their dreams, earning a few minutes with Shaquille O’Neill, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Excel to prove he belongs to the NBA.
Kobe Bryant #8 of the Los Angeles Lakers will go to basketball against the Dallas Mavericks on January 20, 1997 at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/Nbae via Getty Images)
For Lakers fans, Kobe was more than just a superstar. He belonged to them. He played all of 1,346 regular season games in purple and gold. They saw him grow up, one of the most complete security guards in NBA history.
And memories live in artifacts.
The shoes he wore when he tore Achilles in February, limped after winning two free throws, but sold for $660,000. In April, the jersey he wore in his first regular season game won $7 million. These are more than just collectibles. They are the relics of a man whose legacy transcends statistics and championships.
The $240,000 sneakers are a reminder of how it all started. child. dream. A pair of shoes. And then the city where he comes to love him like a family.
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