Kobe Bryant gave these shoes to LeBron James. They can be yours for (at least) $20,000
Kobe Bryant was an NBA superstar in 2002 when he gave a pair of custom sneakers to a high school player named LeBron James.
It was a nice gesture from a Lakers legend-in-the making, and James was thrilled — even though the shoes were a size too small.
“It was the red-white-and-blue Kobes,” James told ESPN last year of the shoes. “I was a 15 and he was a 14, and I wore them anyway.”
James squeezed into the snug sneakers the following night and scored 35 points during an All-Star game in Philadelphia.
LeBron James plays another 40-minute game in Lakers’ third consecutive OT win, but team should consider giving him more rest, Helene Elliott writes.
Those shoes are now up for bid through Heritage Auctions. Here’s what they look like:
And here’s how the auction house describes them:
“The patriotic colorway displays the Stars & Stripes on the uppers, rubberized toe boxes, three-stripe motif on the midsoles/outer soles, Adidas on the inner tongues, and the Mamba silhouette on the insoles. The design was created to commemorate the loss of life in the recent 9/11 terror attacks. The custom shoes bear no interior tagging but exhibit fine game wear.”
Interested? Hope you have more than $20,000 handy, because that’s where the bidding currently stands. The auction closes next week.
All things Lakers, all the time.
Get all the Lakers news you need in Dan Woike's weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
