It’s fitting that the shoe Kobe Bryant wore during his All-Star Dunk Contest win in 1997
Dunk contest was named the Elevation (EQT.) While this was renamed the adidas Crazy 97 after Kobe left adidas, the shoe and the Dunk Contest originally put Bryant on the map. Donning a round afro, young Kobe defeated the likes of Chris Carr and Ray Allen to snag the 1997 Dunk Contest trophy in the purple colorway.
This de facto signature shoe for Kobe featured the Feet You Wear technology (like the Top Ten 2000 and Top Ten 2010) where the outsole was designed to mimic the curves and shape of the human foot. This allowed for better stability and a lower-to-the-ground feel that was different from many of the other bulky shoes in its era.
Like those aforementioned adidas shoes, the renamed Crazy 97 was re-released in 2016 with a cork upper as part of the “Vino pack” to celebrate Kobe Bryant’s time with the three stripes.
