Vanessa Bryant selected footwear to honor her late husband Kobe Bryant at a Los Angeles Dodgers game on Aug. 25, wearing Nike’s Kobe 9 Elite Low Protro Halo sneaker.
Alongside her daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri, Bryant was in attendance at the MLB matchup honoring the NBA legend two days after he would have celebrated his 46th birthday. Bianka, who is 7 years old, threw the first pitch at the game paying tribute to her father, who died alongside his daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash in January 2020. Also at the game, the family accepted $100,000 from the Dodgers in donation to Bryant’s Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.
While she’s a part of a basketball family, the mom of four was prepared to embrace baseball apparel for the matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays. She wore a white baseball jersey that paid tribute to her husband with the word “Mamba” written in blue script across the front, pairing the oversized look with classic black leggings. Mamba, short for Black Mamba, was Kobe’s nickname referring to his diligence on the court.
Vanessa completed her athletic outfit with a pair of Kobe’s signature Nike sneakers. It was previously announced that the Kobe 9 Elite Protro would be released on his birthday in a white colorway with black accents. The “Halo” shoe, offered in a low and high top version, features Flyknit on the upper and black carbon fiber shanks along the midsole; meanwhile, the Nike Swoosh is iridescent.
The high-top sneaker is available for $240 while the low-top is set for release on Sept. 19 at a price point of $210. The Kobe 9 Elite was originally released in 2014 and stood out amongst Bryant’s other shoes for its high-top ankle cut.
Nike previously released a “Halo” version of the Kobe 8 Protro sneaker last year, also in a white colorway. The brand also celebrated Kobe Bryant Day on Aug. 24, a date which includes both his jersey numbers (8 and 24) and is one day after his birthday. In tribute to the NBA star, Nike restocked several Kobe shoes through its online SNKRS platform.
