Adidas Crazy 8 will soon be available in the market in honor of the late great Kobe Bryant. While we all remember the Black Mamba for sporting Nike kicks throughout the latter half of his career, he was originally sponsored by Adidas. Their partnership lasted for a couple of years before Bryant switched to Nike during the early 2000s. His reasons were simple, Bryant was uninterested to continue with Adidas.
The Adidas Crazy 8, Kobe Bryant’s first ever signature kicks, are making a comeback. 👀.
They drop August 1 overseas and in the US in September. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uOJNQhHDvM
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) August 2, 2023
According to Sports Illustrated, Kobe paid the German brand $8 million to buy himself out of the contract. Ultimately, this led to a blockbuster deal with Nike. However, it wasn’t until 2003 that he was allowed to sign with another brand as per the agreement he made with Adidas. While Nike was led by Michael Jordan‘s signature kicks, Kobe created a performance-based sneaker that fans and players automatically fell in love with.
However, his untimely death came just a year before his deal with Nike was about to come to an end. The Kobe Bryant Estate somehow worked things out to continue production of his iconic shoes. Even today, players like DeMar DeRozan, Devin Booker, and Anthony Davis all wear versions of Kobe’s Nike shoes. But Adidas recently announced that they have something up their sleeve.
Kobe Bryant’s Adidas Crazy 8 is expected to be released at the start of 2024
Back in February, Adidas revealed that they will be releasing older signature shoes. The kicks included T-MAC 3, Rivalry Low, and Kobe’s Adidas Crazy 8. While his Adidas shoes aren’t too popular these days, they were an absolute hit back in the day. The Crazy 8s were last released during the mid-2010s but ultimately fell off the grid due to the rapidly expanding market.
The Adidas Crazy 8s were much chunkier than the ordinary pair of sneakers. They were unique at the time which is why fans genuinely loved them. The shoes will feature its classic wavy design but with a few tweaks here and there. They have been released in Asia already while a stateside launch is expected to take place in September. Five months done the line, the shoes are expected to hit the market with a bunch of colorways. January 2024 is precisely the time sneaker fans ought to be focused on.
Kobe Bryant’s adidas Crazy 8 ‘Black White’ Returns This Month pic.twitter.com/1C3fJDfCjw
— SneakerFiles.com (@sneakerfiles) August 2, 2023
The Adidas Crazy 8 will feature both of its classic colorways. “Core Black” and “Cloud White” are the colorways Kobe predominantly wore earlier on in his career. The price varies with each colorway ranging between $105 to $400.