“Kobe Bryant was my imagination to play basketball”: DeMar DeRozan gets candid about the Lakers legend mentoring him and also giving access to some of his unreleased Mamba shoes

Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan talks about the impact that the late Kobe Bryant had on his career. Deebo had access to some of Nike’s unreleased Mamba editions while in high school.

DeMar DeRozan has been on a breakout season, with many suggesting his name be in the MVP race. The Bulls forward is averaging 27.0 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 4.4 APG on 50.6% shooting from the field. The Bulls currently hold a 21-10 record and are the second seed in the eastern conference.

The Windy City team is one of the top contenders in the east, playing some great basketball. The arrival of DeRozan has been a blessing in disguise for the Bulls franchise, which has struggled to be in playoff contention for a while. His ability to perform clutch shots has been the highlight of his season.

DeRozan has developed one of the best mid-range games in the league, taking inspiration from his mentor, the late Kobe Bryant. The Bulls forward’s game has the Black Mamba’s prints all over it.

Also read: “It was like riding a bike or just being at your first day in school again, I missed it”: Kyrie Irving addresses the media ahead of his return to the Brooklyn Nets camp

During an appearance on The Knuckleheads podcast, DeRozan addressed the impact of Kobe in his life and how he had access to some of the Mamba’s unreleased kicks.

DeMar DeRozan talks about Kobe Bryant being his inspiration to pick up the basketball.

Growing up in LA, it was obvious DeRozan was a Lakers fan. The thirty-two-year-old embodied his game around the Black Mamba. DeRozan was sixteen when he started training with the Lakers legend, who taught him the fundamentals of basketball.

“Aside from my dad putting the ball in my hands, Kobe was my imagination to play basketball. Obviously, I’m a fan of Jordan, but being from LA, really being seven/eight years old, really watching and understanding playing basketball, it was consistently Kobe. That’s who gave me my imagination to go in the living room and do the shoulder shake and the fadeaways. You know I gained an emotional connect with my favorite player through the TV, and by the time I was sixteen years old next thing, you know, every summer I am with him. Working with him, playing with him, and in the off-season getting words and preparation from him, so Kobe was basically my everything. You know, my groundwork was from him, just watching him.”

With Nike stopping the production of the signature Mamba shoes, fans of the Lakers legend have been struggling to procure some of the few pieces left in the market, which are being sold at exorbitant rates. However, DeRozan seems to have stocked a good pile of them and is influential enough to keep his supply going.

The Bulls forward has been wearing the Mamba kicks since his high school days. Kobe wanted to have a set of players representing the Mamba shoes, and Deebo was the first in line.

“This probably go to my senior year in high school, he used to give me a lot of his shoes to wear, certain shoes that weren’t out yet. He gives me exclusive shoes, and I’m like bro, and people didn’t believe it. Like a lot of people didn’t believe it. It was crazy because he was always big on me having shoes. Even if you go back to my college, he made sure USC was sponsored by Kobe. So we wore the Kobe fours and had our own colorway when I was in college. From the relationship that we had, it all started back from high school and carried on till I got to the league.”

(1:00:15)

When asked about which was his favorite pair amongst Kobe’s signature shoes, The Ones replied, DeRozan.

Also read: “I think I could have blocked the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar skyhook a couple of times”: Shaquille O’Neal backs himself to stuff the Lakers GOAT, Isiah Thomas disagrees

DeRozan is only one of the several transcendent talents that Kobe has mentored. Players like Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker embody Kobe’s mamba mentality.