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Following the tragic death of Kobe Bryant in January, Nike made the decision to pause sales on any of his signature line, knowing that collectors may stock up and resell the items at a higher cost, touting the pieces as mementos of the Los Angeles Lakers legend. That decision also included delaying any new Bryant shoes being released, with a few pairs reportedly planned to roll out in February and March.
Fast-forward to today, and Nike has finally made the choice to release a new signature Kobe Bryant shoe.
Called the “Nike Mamba Fury,” the shoe was quietly released without much fanfare or promotion by Nike, and is described as a “takedown” model — which essentially means it’s a budget-friendly basketball shoe that doesn’t include a lot of the technical developments of more expensive signature shoes from players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Still, it is meant to be worn on the hardwood and does provide support and performance, it’s just priced lower (usually around $100).
Per Forbes, it’s not the first Kobe Bryant budget shoe ever created by Nike, with the brand releasing other affordable shoes for Kobe fans like the KB Mentality, Kobe Venomenon, Mamba Instinct, Mamba Rage and Mamba Focus. You can take a look at the Nike Mamba Fury below, which includes a breakdown of the sneaker from the guys over at Wear Testers.
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The new Kobe Bryant signature shoe is pretty awesome, and, while it doesn’t have all the high tech performance or details of some of the other, more expensive basketball kicks out there on the market, the design is straightforward and unique to Bryant’s personality. It means less gimmicks, but still a classic Mamba look and feel.
Per Forbes:
The noticeable difference is a newly designed textile “upper” with a barely visible snakeskin pattern knitted in. The new-look upper will allow Nike to tinker with different colorways and patterns of the new shoe. Although Nike played it very safe with this model, there are still several key elements you can count on from a Kobe shoe. It’s a lightweight, low-cut shoe with a minimal setup that allows for maximum court feel.
The Kobe logo and branding all over the shoe will make the Mamba Fury highly sought after, and will likely be hard to find for a reasonable price. The Mamba Fury is still lingering around in select sizes on smaller websites. As of right now, you cannot find a pair of these shoes on Nike’s website or any of the other major retailers.
Retailing for $99.99, the Nike Mamba Fury is currently being resold online for a little bit more, with Forbes reporting a price tag of $150 on the resale app GOAT. That speaks volumes to the popularity of Kobe Bryant as a whole, as well as sneakerheads’ fandom, with plenty of collectors more than willing to shell out a little bit more for the first pair of signature kicks from Nike since his death.