Nike’s latest ‘That's Mamba’ billboards to honor Kobe Bryant have fans divided: “Could've invested making more pairs”

Kobe Bryant left an undying legacy behind as a basketball player and a great ambassador of the great sport. Nike paid tribute to the LA Lakers legend by setting up multiple billboards of him in New York.

Kobe Bryant's partnership with Nike was one of the longest-running success story for the brand. To honour Mamba mentality and Bryant's relentless grind Nike illuminated the Mecca of basketball with iconic billboards. These billboards reflect iconic instances from Bryant's life on and off the court.

However, this gesture by the sneakers giant got mixed reactions on X (formerly Twitter).

"Money, they could've invested making more pairs," one fan tweeted.

Yet another fan tweet read,

"Wish the man received this much love during his playing days."

Here are some reactions from the fans on X:

Nike recently shared two stories on its official Instagram account, teasing the sneakers of the Black Mamba. While the first story read 12.21, the second had the picture of Bryant from the 2012 Summer Olympics with the Mamba logo in the middle. Nike is maybe preparing fans for the shock drop ahead of Christmas.

Smush Parker says Kobe Bryant did not talk to him for two seasons in LA

Kobe Bryant was one of those legends who demanded more from himself and his teammates. While many NBA players dreamt of playing alongside Bryant, former Smush Parker wasn’t the biggest fan of being Kobe’s teammate.

In a conversation with sports journalist Pablo Torre, Parker revealed some facts about his relationship with Kobe.

"The man never spoke to me. ... I started with this man, I was his co-worker," Parker said. "Like we shared a cubicle side-by-side. How do you do that for two seasons and never hold a conversation?"

Despite that, Parker said he tried to converse with Bryant by talking about the football match the previous night. However, Bryant replied,

“You can't talk to me. You need more accolades under your belt before you talk to me."

Parker also said that he felt disrespected by the Hall of Fame player.

Parker played two seasons with the Lakers, the best seasons of his career. He combined 11.3 points, 3.2 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in two seasons and played all 82 games in both seasons.