After gift to basketball team, Vanessa Bryant sends custom ‘Christmas kicks’ to college football players

Ever since she agreed to a new deal with Nike, Vanessa Bryant has always made sure to honor Kobe and Gigi’s legacy, be it the ‘Mambacitas’ in memory of her daughter or the WNBA-inspired design of the Kobe 8 Protros that echoes his advocate for women’s sports. This time, the brand is taking it to USC’s football team, as part of the “Mamba Programs.”

“Introducing the Nike Kobe 6 “USC” Cleat! • Nike has released a new Vapor Edge Kobe 6 “USC” Cleat. Modeled after the pair Kobe Bryant debuted on Christmas Day 2010 and exclusively customized for the USC Trojans.” The football team shared the news on Instagram, tagging Vanessa Bryant.

“The textured black upper is highlighted by bold cardinal and gold Swooshes and gold Kobe logos on the tongues, along with Kobe’s signature on the rear heel. The team will debut these new cleats this weekend against UCLA,” — against cross-town rivals the UCLA Bruins, marking the 94th time the sides have met. Interestingly, the rivalry is Michael Jordan vs Kobe Bryant as well.

UCLA is a Jordan Brand school that wears Jumpman logos on its uniforms along with Air Jordan shoes. Meanwhile, USC is a Nike school with close ties to NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s family. Speaking of close ties, last year the college basketball team also received a unique gift from Vanessa Bryant and the Swoosh brand.

USC added on their social media in November 2023, “Vanessa Bryant gifts the USC men’s and women’s basketball teams with a pair of “Reverse Grinch” Kobe 6s .” Throughout the video, several athletes thanked the 42-year-old philanthropist for making it possible. The program was part of the Mamba program that Venessa launched in honor of Kobe and Gigi. “We are grateful for the amazing support of these prestigious universities … to further the legacy of Kobe and Gigi!” she had said.

The initiation was a vision shared between Vanessa, Nike and Mamaba & Mambacita Sports Foundation – organization dedicated to creating positive impact for underserved athletes in memory of the two. So Vanessa has obviously found several ways to continue the Lakers legend’s legacy, along with her daughter’s, and the past year speaks volumes for that.

How Vanessa Bryant is keeping the Lakers legend’s legacy alive

In May of this year, to celebrate what could have been an 18th birthday for Gianna, 100 boys and girls had the opportunity to play basketball. Enjoying the opportunity were the children from the Boys and Girls Club of Whittier, LA Harbor and West San Gabriel Valley. In addition, Nike and Vanessa Bryant launched a Kobe 8 Protro ‘Mambacita.’

The post from Vanessa Bryant read: “Today we gathered over 100 boys & girls from @bgcofwhittier, @wsgvbgc, @bgclaharbor to join us at the @lakers facility for a memorable @MambaMambacitaSports Skills Academy Basketball Camp to honor my Gigi’s 18th birthday. We are grateful to our dedicated partners @nikeLA, @uscwbb and all the coaches who made the day extra special.”

Apart from this, it was last year that Vanessa Bryant announced six universities participating in the ‘Mamba Program’. The University of Connecticut, the University of Southern California, the University of Oregon, Duke University, Louisiana State University and the University of Kentucky would wear Kobe Bryant and Gigi’s shoes as a tribute. Now USC’s football team would honor Kobe against rival UCLA.