While there was a time that Kobe Bryant sported Adidas, he later became a Swoosh man for the later part of his career. And realizing the truth in a rather blunt way was his former teammate Nick Young.
On the night of the Black Mamba’s final game, the players lined up to get their sneakers autographed by the elite star, and when it was Young’s turn, he produced a pair of Adidas shoes only for Kobe to bin them into the trash immediately.
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“Kobe signing autographs—We were all in line we were fans, you know,” Young said. “In the locker room—the fact that he threw my Adidas and didn’t sign my Adidas, I was a little disappointed in that. But … he could not end without something like that, so … I think he threw my shoes in the trash, but yeah, that’s Kobe for you.”
He added that Adidas shoes are not under Kobe’s list of “acceptable” items. Even in a later interview, Young narrated the same iteration.
“Yep, and he said, ‘Hell na,’ and threw [the sneakers] in the trash,” Young remembered. “He doesn’t like Adidas. Said, ‘F Adidas. I don’t mess with Adidas. But lucky I had my Nike Kobes. He signed those. But he always used to, I knew he was gonna do something. I was hoping he’d sign it, but I kinda knew he was gonna do that. Just cause he always messed with me.”
Young and Kobe played together for three years, and it was surprising that the former didn’t see it coming. But well, he did get what he wanted in the end.
Why Did Kobe Bryant Hate Adidas?
Kobe Bryant inked a deal with Adidas when he got drafted in 1996, and stayed with the brand until 2002, but when the time to wrap up the contract came up, his divorce from the brand was a murky one, leading the Mamba to be spiteful of the sporting giant.
For those unaware, After the Kobe 2’s came out in 2000, it failed spectacularly in sales and Kobe wanted out of his contract. But he reportedly paid eight million dollars himself to get out of his Adidas Contract after 2002. The buyout had a condition that he could not sign with another brand until 2003.
This makes sense to see why his tirade was warranted. After 2003, he signed a four-year, $40 million deal with Nike at age 24 which went on till 2021.
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