Los Angeles Lakers legend and future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant has been very active during his post-playing career, becoming involved with a series of companies and projects. At the same time, Bryant remains engaged towards sponsorships and partnerships like Nike, giving fans an outlet to support his endeavors.
Kobe Inc. and Nike are just some of the creative outlets Bryant has his hands on, releasing projects such as the ‘Muse Cage’ series and his new Kobe AD ‘Mamba Mentality’ Nike pack, which dropped on Thursday.
The five-shoe collection each alludes to the five emotions Bryant has related to the ‘Mamba Mentality’, relying on the color schemes to connect with the consumer. With Thursday, Aug. 24, being declared Mamba Day, Bryant took to Twitter to assign a specific athlete or entertainer to one of the emotions.
Of the five, Bryant called out two current NBA All-Stars, who have had ongoing relationships with the Lakers legend. The first one up was Isaiah Thomas, who Bryant tried to motivate in the aftermath of the Boston Celtics-Cleveland Cavaliers trade:
.@Isaiah_Thomas I challenge you to make the All-NBA First Team next season #MambaMentality pic.twitter.com/kl8FN4JiO9
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 24, 2017
Bryant also challenged Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan to trace back to his roots in Compton, in order to potentially heal a lost relationship:
.@DeMar_DeRozan I challenge you to rekindle a lost friendship from your youth in Compton #MambaMentality pic.twitter.com/82XF2elJ1f
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) August 24, 2017
The five personalities Bryant challenged are all signed to Nike, as the project is dedicated to making each person better and in unison with the ‘Mamba Mentality’. Bryant also challenged Kendrick Lamar, Allison Felix, and Richard Sherman as a part of the project, wrapping up the other three shoes in the collection.
The 18-time All-Star challenged the five personalities, assigning them towards one of the shoes and emotions tied to it. ‘Mamba Mentality’ steadily progressed into the alter ego of Bryant, representative of the ‘Black Mamba’ and all of his accolades.