Davis has worn only the Nike Kobe 4, a sneaker originally released in 2009. After being the face of several of Nike's high top Air Max models in recent seasons, some of which featured a custom unibrow logo and "Fear the Brow" verbiage, Davis has opted to instead adopt Bryant's sneaker for his first season in L.A.
And he's far from the only one.
Players at all positions, 102 to be exact, are lacing up a retro edition of the Kobe 4, making it one of the most popular individual sneakers in the NBA. Nearly 67% of NBA players wear Nike sneakers, and more of them are wearing Kobe-badged kicks than even the current lines for stars
LeBron James,
Kyrie Irving and
Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Davis, who was a sophomore in high school when Nike originally released the low top Kobe model, has stuck to a rotation of player exclusive pairs in matching purple and yellow accents. Meanwhile, one of the players Davis was traded for has also traded his old kicks for the Kobe 4.
"I like them a lot," said
New Orleans Pelicans guard
Lonzo Ball, who has worn the Kobe 4 exclusively this season after
severing ties with Big Baller Brand. "They're light, but they're also sturdy. In my opinion, Kobe makes the best basketball shoe. ... The 4s are at the top of the list. A bunch of other guys around the league probably think that as well."