Tonight, both of Kobe Bryant’s jerseys will soar up into the rafters. To celebrate, Nike has a special edition Black Mamba Air Force 1 iD scheduled to release tonight alongside matching apparel.
On December 18, Kobe Bryant will join a very select group of athletes who have two jerseys retired — and become the only player with two numbers retired with a single team (both 8 and 24).
For the youngins that may not remember Kobe during his heyday, here’s a quick refresher: according to Nike, Kobe Bryant has won five titles with the Lakers and an MVP award; he has led the league in scoring twice and he was named a member of the All-NBA defensive team nine times. He is the Lakers all-time leader in regular season games played with 1,346, points scored with 33,643, and three-pointers made.
The special edition ‘Black Mamba’ Nike Air Force 1 iD features a snake-skin-like “Black Mamba” upper, an embroidered drop shadow Swoosh, and both of Bryant’s numbers on the heel tabs. Additionally, eight stars appear on each tongue that, when added, pays homage to the Lakers total title tally.
The Black Mamba Air Force 1 iD is the footwear portion of a number retirement pack that included limited edition jerseys and graphic t-shirts. No pricing information has been announced.
The Nike Air Force 1 Low Premium iD (Los Angeles Lakers) will be available on Nike.com at the tipoff of tonight’s Lakers vs. Warriors game, around 7:30 PM PT.
The t-shirts release at 8:24 PM PT (see what Nike did there?) and are available at select retailers in the Los Angeles area like Foot Locker at Hollywood and Highland.
Source: Nike
Good riddance.