The following is excerpted from the forthcoming book COMPLEX PRESENTS: SNEAKER OF THE YEAR, THE BEST SINCE ’85 By COMPLEX published by Abrams Image, on-sale October 20. Text/Photo Copyright © 2020 Complex Media, Inc. Used by permission of Abrams Image, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York. All rights reserved.
The basketball footwear category owes more to Kobe Bryant than any other athlete not named Michael Jordan. Bryant was considered an exacting player whose attention to detail went unmatched, and that focus carried over to the shoes he wore on the court.