Sneaker News For Kobe fans, there are a number of dates on the yearly calendar that are bittersweet. While there are designated days that celebrate the legacy of Kobe such as Mamba Day on April 13th, the date of his final NBA game, there are other occasions that are as heartbreaking as they are celebratory.
May 1st marks the birthday of Gigi Bryant, the daughter of Kobe who was among the nine souls that perished on that fateful January morning in 2020. Nike and the Kobe Brand has cemented this as one of its most important days of the year, honoring the life of the young hooper who, without question, had a bright future in the game of basketball. She would’ve turned nineteen years old in 2025 and likely coming off the end of the college basketball season. With the UConn Huskies being one of the favorites to land her talents, Gigi might have an NCAA Championship under her belt playing alongside the likes of Paige Bueckers, Kaitlyn Chen, and Aubrey Griffin.
In addition to the Kobe 9 Protro EM “Mambacita” dropping on May 1st, Nike is also dropping a set of Home and Away jerseys. These are similar to the set that released in 2023, but with an updated size-tag. They’ll be on SNKRS for $120 on May 1st HERE, with profits for the sales of these jerseys as well as the Kobe 9 EM “Mambacita” benefit the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.
