The Mamba Moment: Kobe Bryant passes Michael Jordan

Over the years Kobe has constantly been compared to Michael Jordan.  Last Sunday Bryant passed Jordan on the NBA scoring list.  He did this while wearing his "Mamba Moment" kicks, a new colorway of the Nike Kobe 9 Elite Low.  This was a very big accomplishment for Bryant, and he is without a doubt one of the best players to ever play the game.  As long as basketball continues to be played, so will debates about who the GOAT is.  But what about the shoes; who has the greatest shoes of all time?

As far as most Sneakerheads are concerned, the Jordan brand is king.  There is no debate.  They would take a pair of retro Jordans over almost any other shoe.  He changed the way the game is played, and he changed the sneaker industry along with it.  People act as if Michael Jordan was actually cut up and divided into each individual Jumpman on everyone's gear.  His shoes are a souvenir of his history; a literal piece of him screaming to remember the legacy.

Unlike the Jordan brand, the Kobe line does not scream Kobe to consumers.  In fact, a lot of consumers buying shoes have no idea what his logo even is.  This is due to time, his logo has only been around for five years, while the Jumpman has been around forever.  Only time will tell if Kobe's line will leave a legacy, and it is up to the consumer to decide its fate.

Perhaps as consumers, we should stop worrying about which legacy is greater.  If Kobe would have played first, their roles would be reversed, and so would their impact on the sneaker industry.  As consumers we should live in the now, and support the history being made today.  We should buy the shoes our favorite players wear, buy for performance, or buy the shoes that leave the greatest impact on the game.  In any case, we should stop buying shoes for the brand; for what we believe to be king. Right now it is the Mamba's Moment, and I know whose shoes I am going to buy.