UPDATE September 5: Vanessa Bryant has officially announced which universities will represent the Nike Kobe Brand.
The Nike Kobe line is officially relaunching this month with the Kobe 8 Protro “Halo,” and now rumors suggest that Mamba fans have even more to look forward to. A report from KSR‘s Jack Pilgrim states that the Wildcats will be the first official Nike Kobe Brand school starting this season. Over the years, many Nike schools were lucky enough to receive Kobe PEs (player editions), but no program has ever been an official Kobe school. The report states that other schools will join Kentucky in representing the brand.
While Kobe famously made the jump to the NBA straight from high school, he was never linked to Kentucky during his high school recruitment. Instead, Kobe was linked to Duke, North Carolina, and La Salle, where his dad was a coach. Still, the Mamba Mentality has been adopted by players and schools worldwide, and several Kentucky stars wore Kobe sneakers at the UK and continue to do so in the NBA. Last year, the school hosted Natalia Bryant on campus during a Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation Mamba Skills Academy and presented the Bryant family we a Wildcats uniform honoring the late Gigi Bryant.
Lead Image: Sole Collection
In-post images: UK Athletics