Kobe Bryant Reportedly Planned to leave Nike and Launch His Own Sneaker Brand Mamba
Kobe Bryant tragically passed away in a helicopter crash in early 2020, leaving the World shocked and devastated. Bryant, who was 41 when he passed away, had been signed to Nike for nearly two decades at the time, and his line of signature sneakers had been continued beyond his retirement from the game and his signature sneakers were considered to be some of Nike’s best-ever for on-court performance, favored by many other NBA players signed to Nike.
According to new details revealed on Twitter by entrepeneur and co-founder of Virgin Hyperloop Shervin Pishevar, Bryant was reportedly unhappy in his current deal with Nike and wanted to instead start a player-owned shoe company under the Mamba label. According to Iranian-American angel investor and venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar, however, Kobe was considering leaving Nike to start his own sneaker company. In a series of tweets, Pishevar claims that Bryant had met with him to discuss terminating his relationship with Nike in late 2019 and starting a “shoe company owned by players,” supposedly called Mamba, at some point in 2020.
Pishevar shares that Kobe was apparently unhappy with Nike’s marketing and promotion committee to his signature line, and felt that sales of his shoes were struggling. Pishevar also claims that Kobe did not trust Nike’s judgment in design, which is why he still retained tight control of his line of sneakers. Pishevar took the claims a step further, posting a picture of the potential designs the two had worked on together for the silhouette of the shoe. Bryant’s relationship with Nike dates back to 2003 when he left Adidas to sign with the brand, releasing his first shoe with them in 2006. Pishevar also claimed that Kobe wasn’t happy with Nike’s weak marketing and promotion which he believes caused the shoes to underperform in sales.
Though these claims can’t be substantiated and only point to Kobe thinking about leaving Nike to start his own brand, Pishevar says he divulged this information nearly a year after Bryant’s death because this week is the one-year anniversary of the meeting. It’s unclear what Kobe’s relationship with Pishevar was and whether Pishevar was asked to or considering investing in Mamba.
While big sportswear companies such as Nike and adidas still control large parts of the performance market, there have been attempts by players to launch their own brands. Lonzo Ball and his brothers started Big Baller Brand with their father, while Stephon Marbury teamed up with Steve and Barry’s to launch Starbury — a line of affordable basketball shoes. Shaquille O’Neal also opted to start his own Dunkman and Platinum brands, though those are remembered more for their knockoff designs than anything else. If there was one player with the star power and the know-how to break free of the big corporations, it would have been Kobe Bryant. Any of these supposed plans were were cut short by Bryant’s untimely passing in January of this year. If true, it would have been incredibly interesting to see what Kobe could have done with a brand he had complete control over. Nike has yet to comment on the matter.
