Nike will honor Kobe Bryant with “Mamba Week” starting on Sunday, Aug. 23, the day the late Los Angeles Lakers icon would have turned 42.
The event will be a week full of programming and retail launches celebrating Kobe’s legacy.
“It isn’t normal to list “five-time NBA champion” and “Oscar winner” in the same biography, but nothing Kobe did was ordinary. When he introduced his “Mamba Mentality” in 2012, it was an insight into what drove his relentless pursuit of perfection,” Nike said.
The sports apparel maker said that during “Mamba Week,” it would launch three key efforts: a $1-million donation to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, “amplifying Kobe’s message through the Mamba League, and extending Kobe’s legacy of inspiration and innovation through select Kobe products.”
The Nike Foundation donation to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation will be in memory of Kobe and his daughter, Gianna. The two perished in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.
“The foundation, whose mission is to make a positive impact through sports, will use these funds to further Kobe’s goal of keeping kids active and putting them on a path to success in life,” Nike said.
“It specifically focuses on kids in underserved communities who may face financial barriers to sport and on providing equal sport opportunities for girls,” it added.
Nike recalled that in 2017, Kobe partnered with it to form the Mamba League with Boys & Girls Clubs throughout Los Angeles, which strived to enroll an equal number of girls and boys and engage female coaches.
“The league and coaches instill Bryant’s message of Mamba Mentality — work to get better every day, on and off the court,” Nike said.
Nike assured customers that it would continue to release Kobe Protro shoes to allow millions of fans he had inspired around the world to keep his legacy going.
The company said it would also continue to work with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to release limited quantities of Bryant’s iconic Los Angeles Lakers jersey. The products will begin releasing in late August, coinciding with “Mamba Week.” Jessica Ivy A. Zapata