5. Nike Zoom Kobe 3 “MVP”
Year: 2008
The Lone MVP.
The waffle is what they all called them. The Nike Zoom Kobe 3 offers a unique design. Many love it (like myself) and many others hate it. Speaking of hate, if you hated Kobe during this prime time, then you must hate him because he destroyed the league for nearly three consecutive years. I won’t give you the stats but from 2005 to about 2007/2008, the Black Mamba went on a roll.
His only MVP honors came as Kobe Bryant wore the Kobe 3 for the majority of the 2007-2008 season. It might possibly be most memorable moment in his career as the Lakers suffered the most heartbreaking loss to the Boston Celtics in the Finals of 2008. The Kobe 3 will forever be remembered as that sneaker he took the fall in. Thankfully, Kobe and the purple and gold won back-to-back as he led his team of Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and the Trevor Ariza / Ron Artest of the world to Championship level. It was remarkable.
The Nike Zoom Kobe 3 performed so well on court. To me, the Kobe 1-3 are hardly ever spoken upon as being a top sneaker on court. For basketball, the Kobe 3 maintained a balance between stability, cushion, fit, and comfort for the hardwood. Zoom Air is responsive, the outsole isn’t aggressive, but works. One of the best fitting shoes ever. If you haven’t tried them, I highly suggest you do so. Thank me later.
