Almost all NBA players are endorsed by some sneaker company. But only a handful have shoes named after them, fewer have popular lines that sell tens or hundreds of millions of dollars worth of merchandise annually and even fewer remain popular in retirement. In the 1990s, a handful of WNBA stars had shoe offerings, including Sheryl Swoopes, who was the first female athlete to have a distinctive basketball sneaker.
Nike clearly believed that Bryant’s appeal extended to retirement and signed him to a new five-year deal on the day of his last NBA game: April 13, 2016. Bryant had his final season in the Kobe 11s, the 11th edition of his sneaker series, played. . After his retirement, Nike released a new series of sneakers designed as Kobe AD, or anno Domini, the Latin phrase meaning “in the year of the Lord”.
Nike’s Jordan brand, and the continued release of Air Jordan sneakers, remain very popular, but as everyday fashion shoes; NBA players rarely wear Air Jordans during games these days. Bryant has tried to improve the trend with retirement, with Nike releasing Bryant protro shoes: retro Bryant shoes have been updated with modern professional performance features.
Although popular with basketball players, Bryant’s sneakers were not always the most popular off the field, worn with jeans or sweat.
Before Bryant’s death, the market for his shoes was quite niche, said Chad Jones, co-founder of Another Lane, a market for sneaker collectors. “Performance-wise, many performance athletes loved Kobe shoes, but fashion wise is the predictor of how well it will sell to the masses,” Jones said.
Nike did not sign Bryant for a lifelong contract, as it did with Jordan and James, which raised questions about how much value he sees in his name. The Kobe shoes worn by NBA players were often limited-edition or unique colors that average consumers could not buy, which partly explains why their popularity on the track is not necessarily popular on the street.