One of the very few instances that Kobe rocked a sneaker outside of his main signature line was in 2008, when he was a key part of the launch of the original Nike Hyperdunk. Nike put in a lot of marketing effort on the original Hyperdunk and had Kobe shoot a viral video in which Bryant would jump over a speeding Aston Martin in the shoes.
The hype was all due to the innovations in the Eric Avar designed shoe that would dictate basketball footwear for Nike for years to come. This includes Flywire, cables that were woven into a plastic-like material to provide an improved fit. That plastic material would also be a precursor for Swoosh sneakers, as future basketball styles were made with the material in place of traditional leathers. The last key technology was the debuting Lunar Foam, a softer cushioning system that was a precursor to Lunarlon that would appear on many of Kobe’s later signature shoes.
Kobe Bryant memorably rocked the original Hyperdunk in the 2008 Summer Olympics, teaming with the “Redeem Team” to re-capture the gold medal for Team USA. The Black Mamba liked the shoes enough to continue rocking the Hyperdunk in the early parts of the 2008-09 NBA regular season.
You can find the Nike Hyperdunk at StockX, GOAT, Stadium Goods, and Flight Club.
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