Kobe Bryant's Best Mamba Moments in Each Nike Signature Shoe

On April 13, 2016, Nike created Mamba Day, a celebration of the Hall of Fame career of Kobe Bryant. It was a chance for the world to pay homage to not only one of the greatest basketball players of all-time, but also one of its most influential. The campaign included a number of memorable ads featuring Kobe and his former rivals who he had both beat and been beaten by, a Fade to Black Pack that featured retros of his signature shoes, and activations in the city of Los Angeles leading up to the final game of his NBA career.

When Kobe blessed himself with the nickname the Black Mamba, it was met with some ridicule as he tried to emerge from an era when he could have easily become a pariah that no one wanted to associate with. Through his undeniable performance on the court, Kobe was able to show the world that he was more than just a basketball machine. He was able to craft the image of the Black Mamba as someone who was a ruthless killer on the court and a sardonic goofball off it. 10 years after his final NBA game and six years after his passing, he achieved success at success at success. Not even Richard Branson could say that.

As the Black Mamba’s path gave way to the Mamba Mentality that athletes and Kobe fans follow to this day, there were plenty of signature Mamba Moments that helped build the legend. With the retro of both Nike Kobe 11 Elite Fade To Black and the Nike Kobe 11 EM Mamba Day dropping today, here’s a look back at some of those Mamba Moments.

Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K4 - One Shining Finals Moment

Colorway: Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K4 Laser

Kobe Bryant’s 2003-04 season was messy, to say the least. He was flying to and from Colorado to attend hearings for his sexual assault case*, occasionally playing games on the same day. Tensions with teammate Shaquille O’Neal were hitting a boiling point and he had to get acclimated to playing with newly signed Hall of Famers and ring chasers Gary Payton and Karl Malone**. It certainly made for a curious time for Nike and Bryant, who signed with the brand just before he was charged. While he wasn’t featured in any advertising, Kobe wore the Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K4 for most of the regular season and the playoffs. During the Lakers lone win in the 2004 Finals against the Pistons, Kobe wore the special Laser makeup of the Huarache 2K4 while putting up 33 points and the game-tying 3 that would force overtime.

*The charges were dropped after the accuser refused to testify. A separate civil suit was filed but was settled out of court in 2005. It’s irresponsible to talk about Kobe in any context during this season without mentioning this part of his life.

**Speaking of this part of Kobe’s life, never forget Karl Malone’s equally messy history that includes hitting on Vanessa Bryant in late 2004. For more Karl Malone mess, do a Doc Rivers and Google him…

Nike Kobe 1 - 81 Points

Colorway: Nike Kobe 81 Points (Obviously)

Kobe Bryant’s legendary 81-point performance has been talked about ad nauseam, especially in light of the moment’s 20th anniversary this past January, the retro of the Kobe 1 sneaker that he wore on that night, and Bam Adebayo scoring 83 points a few weeks later. So enjoy the pretty picture above and the highlights below.

Nike Kobe 2 - 65 Points

Colorway: Nike Zoom Kobe 2 Lakers Home

In what would be the first game of a four-game run of scoring at least 50 points, Kobe would rock a general release colorway of the Nike Kobe 2 en route to a hard-fought win over the Portland Trailblazers. With the Nike Kobe 3 getting renewed attention as a low-cut, could Nike do the same with the Nike Kobe 2 in the near future? The design doesn’t really lend itself to being a low-cut, but then again that was also the initial reaction to the news that the Kobe 3 would go low.

Nike Kobe 3 - Misery

Colorway: Nike Zoom Kobe 3 Orca

The inspiration for the comically dark Nike Kobe 3 from the Prelude Pack were the feelings Kobe was going through in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals when the Los Angeles Lakers were soundly defeated by their rival the Boston Celtics. In reality, they could have just brought back the black and white Nike Kobe 3 that Bryant wore that night, and it would have captured the essence of misery all the same. Nobody reveled in or accepted loss as part of the journey more than Kobe

Nike Hyperdunk - Jumping Over The Aston Martin

Colorway: Nike Hyperdunk Supreme Lakers Away

In hindsight, it was insane to think that anybody with even the slightest personal or business connection to Kobe would have allowed him to jump over a speeding Aston Martin. But here we were in 2008 debating whether or not he had the athleticism to perform the feat. Even though Kobe was literally holding up the new Nike Hyperdunk for everybody to see, the lack of polish that we typically saw in Nike ads made us believe for a brief moment Kobe actually took Ronny Turiaf to the top of a downtown LA parking lot so he had a witness to his Aston Martin jump.

Nike Kobe 4 - Game Winner Over Dwyane Wade

Colorway: Nike Kobe 4 Purple Splatter

There are way too many Mamba Moments in the Kobe 4 to count. There’s the ankle insurance commercials, the celebration of the first championship post-Shaq, etc. But the most “Mamba” of them all was his amazing game-winning running 3-pointer over the outstretched arms of a prime Dwyane Wade. Wade’s reaction post-game of being both so heated and resigned to the fact that only Kobe could make that shot is a testament to the influence that the Black Mamba has had on generations of hoopers who have come after him.

Nike Kobe 5 - One More Than Shaq

Colorway: Nike Kobe 5 Big Stage Home

Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals was in the immortal words of Kevin Garnett, a “bar fight.” It’s the type of game that old school NBA fans adore and wish would come back, failing to realize that the only reason it’s appealing is because it took place during Game 7 of an NBA Finals. Slap that box score in a mid-January game between the Pelicans and the Wizards, and you might start thinking relegation is a good idea*. Kobe infamously went 6-24 during the game, but he crashed the boards with a career-high 15 rebounds and made the pass to Ron Artest for a dagger three-pointer. Even when his shot wasn’t falling on the big stage, which is ironic since he was wearing the Big Stage Kobe 5, Kobe contributed in other ways to help the Lakers go back-to-back.

*Dear NBA, consider threatening teams that tank with relegation. Instead of giving the teams with the four worst records the best odds, put them in a separate “lottery” where the two “winners” are demoted to the G-League.

Nike Kobe 6 - Hey, At Least The Sneakers Were Cool…

Colorway: Nike Kobe 6 Grinch

We’ve talked about it before in this space, but Kobe’s 2010 Christmas Day performance was not one of his best days. Scoring only 16 points against the Miami Big 3 of LeBron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh, the Lakers never stood a chance. However, on that day, we would get the debut of what is becoming the consensus greatest Nike Kobe sneaker of all-time. It wasn’t immediately obvious back then, but the Kobe 6 Grinch organically became the fans’ choice, especially in the years after his passing and the embrace by the younger generation for the sneaker’s quirky colorway.

Nike Kobe 7 - Punking LeBron James

Colorway: Nike Kobe 7 Galaxy

This moment is mana to the souls of LeBron haters everywhere. With the East down by two with 16 seconds to go in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, the stage was set for a Kobe versus LeBron moment that the basketball world had been begging for. With the ball in his hands and Kobe - wearing the Nike Kobe 7 Galaxy - on defense, LeBron had the chance to tie the game or go for the win. Instead, LeBron passed the ball to Deron Williams for the game-winner. Correct basketball play, wrong legacy move. Despite that blunder, LeBron had another chance to go for the win when Williams missed the shot and the ball made its way back to James. But again, LeBron threw an errant pass that was intercepted by Blake Griffin and sealed the win for the West. Kobe’s reaction to the sequence speaks to the difference between the two superstars.

Nike Kobe 8 - Tears Achilles, Finishes The Job Anyway

Colorway: Nike Kobe 8 Elite PE

The 2012-13 NBA season was one to forget for Kobe and the Lakers. Despite adding Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to the roster, the Lakers were not a championship-caliber squad as they entered the postseason. Sadly, they would be without Kobe for that playoff run as he tore his Achilles in the 80th game of the season. A year after sneakerheads and basketball fans would blame adidas for Derrick Rose’s torn ACL, everybody was silent as Kobe writhed in pain while wearing his Nike Kobe 8 Elite in a player-exclusive Lakers colorway. Something about narratives and whatnot. Anyways, despite knowing in that moment that nothing would ever be the same, Kobe fought through the pain to shoot two free throws. Did he make them? Of course he did. The pair that Kobe wore recently sold at auction for $660,000, a staggering amount of money for what was a turning point (for the worse) in Kobe’s career, but also adding to the narrative that misery was an essential part of the Black Mamba’s arc.

Nike Kobe 9 - Passes Michael Jordan In All-Time Scoring List

Colorway: Nike Kobe 9 Elite Low iD Mamba Moment

Look, if there’s one thing Kobe loves to unintentionally do, it’s to one-up Michael Jordan. From jersey numbers to scoring more points in the Air Jordan 8 in a single game, Kobe had a knack for just doing enough to surpass MJ (except in championships). The most historically significant one-upping of MJ took place in December 2014 when Kobe surpassed Jordan for third place in the all-time scoring list. To celebrate the Mamba Moment, Nike made the Kobe 9 Elite Low and the Flyknit color pattern available on NIKEiD, the precursor to Nike By You.

Nike Kobe 10 - None

Colorway: None

Let’s be honest, there was no Mamba Moment in the Nike Kobe 10. There were a handful of throwback games where Kobe looked and played like he was still in his prime, but the penultimate season of his career was marred by injuries and a roster that he described in one practice as “Charmin soft.” He was still wearing the Kobe 9 Elite that day.

However, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a Mamba Moment off the court. While injured, Kobe was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Kimmel showed him a clip of his Lakers teammates “celebrating” after beating the Celtics and breaking an eight-game losing streak.

The “Trade Everybody” meme comes to mind every time the clip was brought up during that miserable Lakers era.

Nike Kobe 11 - Fade To Gold

Colorway: Nike Kobe 11 Elite Fade To Black

No surprise here. Another moment that’s been talked about and dissected to no end, Kobe’s final game will live on in the minds of Laker fans forever. Leading up to the finale, Nike had been releasing the Fade To Black pack incrementally and saving the best for last in the Kobe 11 Elite in black and gold. It was a fitting sneaker to cap off an amazing career, and seeing the retro Protro return on the tenth anniversary is bittersweet now that Kobe is no longer with us.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com