Vanessa Bryant exposes a scandal sheet of the Nike Kobe 8 in honor of what would have been her child Gianna Bryant’s 18th birthday. Teased on Instagram leading up to the Wednesday (May 1) release, the tennis shoe is appropriately called the “Mambacita.”
Per The Grio, the style includes butterfly graphics, commemorating Gianna’s “transformational effect.” In addition, it includes the late basketball gamer’s jersey number, her label, and a heart, an angel, and “Mambacita” sewed onto the within the shoe. Purchase the tennis shoe here.
“Gigi altered the video game. Permanently,” shared Nike in an Instagram post. “On 5.1 we commemorate Gianna ‘Gigi’ Bryant’s 18th birthday and the transformational effect she had on highlighting females’s sports with the release of the Kobe 8 Protro ‘Mambacita.'”
Profits from the tennis shoes will benefit the Mamba & & Mambacita Sports Foundation. The tennis shoe retails for $190.
In a different post from Vanessa Bryant, the mom of 4 shared a psychological homage to Gianna, set to The Temptations “My Girl.” The post consisted of pictures and videos including touching minutes of the household.
“Happy birthday to my stunning lady, Gigi! I enjoy you. I miss you. I’m so pleased with you,” composed the 41-year-old. “2024 was your year. You would’ve been finishing high school and picking which college to go to. (I would’ve been attempting my hardest to encourage you to remain near home). I’m happy of the modification in sports you and daddy worked so hard on. You continue to inspire me and influence girls and women daily. I like you constantly, mommy.”
In January 2020, Gianna, her dad Kobe Bryant, and numerous others passed away in a terrible helicopter crash. In March 2023, Vanessa Bryant was granted $28.5 million settlement from Los Angeles County in a claim over images shared from the mishap.