NBA

Vanessa Bryant and Nike are continuing their partnership.Bryant made the announcement on her personal Instagram account on Thursday, accompanied by an image of the Nike and Kobe Bryant logos in white on a black background. The deal will honor her husband Kobe Bryant and her daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, both of whom died in a helicopter accident in January 2020, along with six of their close friends and the pilot.
“I am so proud that my husband’s shoes are still the most worn by players on NBA courts and that the demand for his shoes remain so desired by his fans around the world,” Vanessa Bryant wrote in the caption. “With this new partnership, fans will soon be able to have access to Kobe and Gigi Nike product for years to come and with Nike donating 100 percent of the net proceeds yearly for Gianna’s shoes to our Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation (M&MSF).

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Gigi and Kobe Bryant at the NBA All-Star game in 2016.
AP

“I am also grateful that Nike and I will work together to establish a youth basketball center in Southern California that will share the Mamba Mentality with youth athletes for generations to come,” she continued. “I know this is an inspiring moment for my husband and daughter’s global fans, and I am very appreciative of each and every one of you!”
On Thursday, Nike also announced the first new shoe from the partnership, the Kobe 6 Porotro “Mambacita Sweet 16,” which honors Gigi, who would’ve turned 16 this May.
“Kobe Bryant means so much to so many of us, not just NBA fans but globally beyond the game,” John Donahoe, president and chief executive officer at Nike, said in a statement. “His impact in growing the sport, particularly encouraging women and young people to pick it up, endures as one of his deepest, lasting legacies. Together with Vanessa, we hope to honor Kobe and Gigi by championing a new generation for many years to come.”
The NBA legend’s endorsement line with Nike ended last April. At the time, Vanessa Bryant mentioned on her Instagram that she hopes to continue the partnership.
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CHASING TIGERS: Like many of his ambidextrous peers, Phillip Lim is game for interdisciplinary opportunities and his latest venture is a hook-up with the National Basketball Association’s Brooklyn Nets.Having partnered with Volvo Cars last fall for a sustainable weekend travel bag, launched the “House of Slay” comic series with a few fellow fashion designers, and crafted a cookbook further back, the New York-based designer has crossed the East River to collaborate with the Nets on exclusive Chinese New Year merchandise.
It wasn’t known if Lim will be courtside at the Barclays Center Tuesday night, when the home team taps off against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Brooklyn Nets will commemorate the Chinese New Year with a celebration that is being presented by the restaurant chain Panda Express.

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This marks the first time that Lim and his namesake brand, 3.1 Phillip Lim, has linked with a sports team. As a nod to 2022 being the Year of the Tiger, the collaboration includes a crewneck sweatshirt embellished with an image of a tiger. Lim’s designs will be sold exclusively in the Nets’ team story at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn Fanatics, starting Tuesday.
Tuesday’s event is part of the NBA’s 11th league-wide Lunar New Year campaign, celebrating the most important holiday for people of Chinese descent.
Recently, the league has come under fire for its silence over China’s human rights violations, including the mistreatment and killings of Uyghur Muslims. China is a key territory for the NBA and the league’s business operations there are reportedly worth upwards of $5 billion.
The matter intensified earlier this week after Chamath Palihapitiya, a 10 percent stakeholder in the Golden State Warriors, told his co-host during an “All-In” podcast, “Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, OK? You bring it up because you really care, and I think it’s nice that you care, the rest of us don’t care…I’m just telling you…a very hard, ugly truth. Of all the things I care about, yes, it’s below my line.”
In 2020, Nets co-owner Joe Tsai and his Nets co-owner Claire Wu Tsai launched their Social Justice Fund and committed $50 million to supporting the BIPOC community in Brooklyn. Joe Tsai is a founding board member of the Asian American Foundation.
Like the Nets, Lim is committed to supporting and uplifting communities in need.
Last year following the upswing in hate crimes against the Asian community, Lim wasted no time in speaking out publicly and initiating fundraising for victims of such crimes, Asian American and Pacific Island-owned small businesses and grassroots organizations. The designer started a GoFundMe initiative, which raised $7 million in aid.
Tuesday’s game will be broadcast live on TNT and it will be available in China on Tencent and Migi. The Nets will coordinate with NBA China to distribute social and digital content pieces across the Nets’ and the league’s channels.
The new collaboration sprang from Lim’s and the Nets’ shared interest in the importance of strength of community and the intersectionality of different cultures. Tuesday’s Chinese New Year-themed game is part of the Nets Unite platform, which aims to build unity, celebrate culture and foster equity by playing up the rich traditions of our diverse community.

In a statement, BSE Global’s John Abbamondi said that Tuesday’s game will be an opportunity for fans to learn about the Chinese New Year traditions “from across the world and right here within our community. We are excited to collaborate with Phillip Lim to showcase how fashion and sport can work together to connect different communities and individuals’ backgrounds.” BSE Global owns the Nets and the Barclays Center.
Panda Express’ involvement in Tuesday night’s special event will include giving a red envelope — a tradition that is emblematic of wishing good fortune for the new year — to every fan at the game. Each of the red envelopes contains a QR code that directs recipients to PandaLNY.com to play a game with the chance to win awards that will be redeemable at any Panda Express in the U.S. Fans can also enroll in a sweepstakes to try to win a jersey autographed by Kevin Durant, by scanning a QR code located on pop-up banners that will be hung throughout the arena.
Fans are being encouraged to take their seats by 7:15 p.m. for the opening ceremony that will feature “The Joyous String Ensemble” taking part in the national anthem performance. Shuming Han will announce the starting lineups in Mandarin and Consul general Huang Ping of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York will deliver an opening message.
In addition, Team Hype and the Brooklynettes will be showing off special dance routines and the Chinese youth hip-hop dance team Taka Land will perform. Attendees can also check out a Chinese New Year photo booth, Chinese New Year shooting shirts in the tram store and videotaped Chinese New Year wishes from Nets players throughout the game.
Barclays Center’s Brooklyn Market, which includes local minority-owned restaurants, will offer cuisine from Chinese-owned restaurants Yaso Tangbao, Mimi Cheng’s and The Tang. Before the game gets underway, students from New York University’s Chinese Student Group will participate in a panel with BSE employees.

Another pair of Michael Jordan’s game-worn sneakers will be auctioned off.
As part of their Handbags x Hype: The Luxury Remix online auction, Christie’s said a pair of Air Jordan “He’s Got Game” XIIIs sneakers worn and signed by the basketball legend will be available for sale.
The shoes were worn on April 18, 1998, during Jordan’s last regular season game of the Chicago Bulls’ championship season against the New York Knicks.
The NBA 1997-98 season marked Jordan’s final season with the Bulls. That year, he helped lead his team to their third consecutive championship, winning against the Utah Jazz. In total, the Bulls won six NBA championships while Jordan was playing for them.

The shoes were designed by Tinker Hatfield, who drew inspiration from Jordan’s nickname of “Black Cat.” The sneakers’ silhouette features a holographic jewel at the heel, which is supposed to resemble a black panther’s eye with the outsole resembling the paw of a panther. The original white, red and black color palette is dubbed as the “He’s Got Game,” which was named after the basketball player’s appearance in Spike Lee’s 1998 film of the same name.

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A closer look at Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan XIIIs, which will be sold by Christie’s.
Courtesy of Christie’s

The Air Jordan XIIIs were originally gifted by Jordan to Isiah Thomas, another Hall of Fame basketball player. The two were known as intense rivals while Thomas was with the Detroit Pistons. The Bulls lost to the Pistons in back-to-back Eastern Conference finals in 1989 and 1990, with the latter eventually going on to win the championship both years.
Thomas then gifted the sneakers to his son Joshua as a birthday present.
Last month, a pair of game-worn Nike Air Ships by Jordan soldfor a record-breaking $1.472 million at the Sotheby’s Icons of Excellence and Haute Luxury auction held in Las Vegas.
The Nike Air Ships is reportedly the earliest known pair of shoes Jordan has worn throughout his career to reach the auction market. He wore them playing in the fifth game, against the Denver Nuggets, of his rookie season with the Bulls.
According to Sotheby’s auction house, it set a new world record for the most expensive sneakers ever sold at an auction.
Christie’s Handbags x Hype: The Luxury Remix auction is online-only and will also include highly-coveted items such as a Supreme pinball machine and Hermès Himalaya Birkin bags. The sale will be open from Nov. 24 to Dec. 9.
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Founded in Tokyo by Hisato Takenouchi in 2006, Nana-Nana’s main focus was to collaborate with well-known artists and brands to produce accessories, a strategy it has continued since its relaunch in 2017. On Saturday, the brand will launch its first collaboration with the National Basketball Association. The collection will feature Nana-Nana’s signature paper-sized bags, as well as their newest model, a circular design inspired by the basketball hoop. The collection will be made up of seven styles overall, more than half of which use materials and colors inspired by NBA teams. Each bag is engraved with the NBA logo in addition to team names. Prices range from $80 to $129.

Nana-Nana x NBA hoop bag, $129 
Courtesy photo

Nana-Nana x NBA A5 Golden State Warriors bag, $129 
Courtesy photo