Kobe gave LeBron signed, game-worn kicks after last game in Ohio
Earlier this week, before the Los Angeles Lakers came to town for their lone visit of the season to Quicken Loans Arena, LeBron James shared his favorite memory from his years-long relationship with Lakers star Kobe Bryant. From ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin:
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“I think my most fond moment is he gave me his shoes when I was in high school,” James said. “I think I was playing in a tournament in Teaneck, New Jersey, and they were playing in the [2002] All-Star game in Philly. And I had an opportunity to go meet him, and he gave me a pair of his shoes, and I actually wore them in a game against Oak Hill, against [Carmelo Anthony], actually. So, six degrees of separation right there.”
They were a pair of Bryant’s signature Adidas sneakers done up with a U.S. flag motif.
James, who signed a lifetime contract with Nike earlier this season, said he does not still have the shoes.
After the Cavaliers defeated the Lakers, 120-111, in Kobe’s final visit to the Q, Bryant — now back squarely in the Nike fold, and evidently set to stay there for many years to come — decided to hook his pal up with a replacement pair: the ones he wore while scoring 17 points with six rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes of work:
LeBron’s one of several stars to receive autographed game-worn Kobes during the Mamba’s farewell tour, joining Draymond Green, Paul George and Kevin Durant. James sure didn’t seem to mind being one of four instead of one of one, though — just look at the smile on the King’s face as he gets to relive one of his favorite memories.
It’s not every day that a 31-year-old with more than 45,000 NBA minutes on his legs gets to feel like a kid again, after all … even if Kobe himself was kind of shocked that James isn’t just that. From Tom Withers of The Associated Press:
And as gets ready to say goodbye to the NBA after two decades, Bryant was stunned to learn that James, too, is on the back half of his career.
“Is this his 10th year?” Bryant asked, before being told that James has been in the league longer. “Eleventh year? Thirteenth year! He’s a true, true vet. It’s strange. To me, it still seems like he just got into the league. Pretty crazy. … He might retire soon, too.”
(That sound you heard was all of Northeast Ohio gasping and knocking on wood in unison.)
All in all, it represented a pretty cool end to a night that saw Cleveland fans pay their respects to Bryant both before the game:
… and near its conclusion:
… and, for Bryant, one more opportunity to both feel the appreciation of the fanbases he’s tortured over the years, and to extend his own appreciation for the opportunities he’s had over the years to mentor the next crop of stars, in hopes that they pay it forward.
“I think it’s important to share whatever knowledge that I’ve gained throughout the years so hopefully they can pass it on to the generation after,” he said after the game, according to McMenamin.
While knowledge is great, a signed pair of game-worn Kobes ain’t too shabby a thing to share, either. It’s certainly better than what LeBron passed down to Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell, at any rate.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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