Aaron Hope 
The Los Angeles Lakers secured a more favorable first round playoff matchup by winning in overtime Wednesday night. But even if LA has a better chance against San Antonio than they probably would against Oklahoma City, there’s just no replacing the winningest member of Nike Basketball’s signature shoe lineup. Lakers fans will have to put their trust in Dwight Howard, Steve Blake and company, with new Nike Kobe 8 System colorways like this sick purple gradient edition in the unprecedented position of releasing while the Black Mamba is on the mend. It’s a shame we won’t see these Court Purple Kobe 8s live up to the ‘Playoffs’ tag they’d garnered earlier, but as you can see in more photos below, this is a superb colorway for both on-court and casual purposes. These will hit select retailers in just over two weeks, so stick with Sneaker News for updates as we approach the Saturday, May 11th release date.
Nike Kobe 8 System
Court Purple/Pure Platinum-Blackened Blue-Laser Purple
555035-500
05/11/13
$150
Photos: NikeTalk
