Isaiah Thomas has been a huge fan of Kobe Bryant’s signature Nike shoes for many years. This passion gave him an extensive knowledge of the entire line, even if he didn’t own every pair. Taking to Instagram, the former Celtics star showcased this expertise by confirming the surprising existence of a rare sneaker model.
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It all started when a fan page surrounding Bryant’s sneakers posted a throwback of Kyle Kuzma wearing the ‘Kobe 3’s. The pure white model that Kuzma is seen sporting is considered beyond rare by itself.
View this post on Instagram
Isaiah soon confirmed that there is an even rare variation of the shoe that exists – the low-top version of the very same sneaker. In the comments section, he said,
“I seen the low top version of these OMG!!! Can’t wait till they drop”
Isaiah Thomas on IG talking about Nike Kobe 3s pic.twitter.com/144A9T8q6H
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) August 19, 2024
Based on Thomas’s comments, it appears that the low-top version of these sneakers was never released to the public. The 35-year-old remains hopeful that they will eventually be made available. It’s no surprise considering just how big of a fan he is of the Kobe line. But why?
In an interview in 2018 with Complex, he answered just this question.
“Kobe [Bryant] is my favorite player of all time. So his sneakers, especially when he went low tops, it like fit my game. I’m a small guy, I gotta move, cut, and the low tops are perfect for me.”
As mentioned earlier, the low-top versions of the Kobe 3s have never been released to the public, which feels like a missed opportunity for Nike. Given the popularity of the low-top Kobe 5s, 6s, and 8s, releasing the 3s could have been a significant hit.
However, with Vanessa Bryant now leading the Kobe brand, there’s hope that fans will soon have the opportunity to purchase these elusive sneakers.
