Every Player, a Different Kobe: USC vs UConn Honours the Mamba Legacy

When USC and UConn faced off this past weekend, the heavyweight women’s college basketball matchup doubled as something far more meaningful. Nike Basketball used the national stage to honour Kobe Bryant’s legacy, outfitting every player across both teams in a different pair of Kobes, turning the hardwood into a moving archive of one of basketball’s most influential signature lines.

Rather than defaulting to a single model or colourway, Nike leaned into variety. Classic silhouettes and modern Protro updates shared the hardwood, reinforcing just how broad – and relevant – the Kobe catalogue remains. Among the standout moments, UConn’s KK Arnold laced up the Kobe 8 Protro ‘Mambacita’, a shoe loaded with meaning through its connection to Gianna Bryant and the wider Mamba legacy. Teammate Azzi Fudd took the floor in the Kobe 5 Protro ‘Year of the Mamba’, a performance favourite that’s become one of the line’s most recognisable modern icons.

The setting gave the tribute added emotional weight. Kobe’s long-standing ties to USC, paired with Gianna’s well-documented dream of playing for UConn, made the game feel like a convergence point for memory, ambition, and forward momentum.

More than anything, the moment reinforced what Kobe’s shoes have always stood for: elite performance first, personal expression second, mythology always present. In a sneaker world that often talks about heritage in abstract terms, this was heritage in motion – lived on the hardwood.

If you want the full Mamba mythology, our complete Kobe Bryant sneaker retrospective has you covered.