Back in 2016, rapper 2Chainz sat in an interview with GQ Sports. Speaking about a range of topics, he was told about a ‘New Era’ tribute for Kobe Bryant in the form of a retirement gift. The company had created two custom hats inspired by Bryant’s glorious career for his retirement season.
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2Chainz, who confessed to being a huge Kobe Bryant fan, could not believe his luck and had a range of questions about the hats. However, he was taken aback when he heard the prices. One sold for a whopping $24,000, while the other one was planned to be sold at $38,000. The two caps had the LA Lakers’ legend’s jersey numbers embossed (24 and 8).
“I definitely like that one. Stop, so this is handcrafted in some cave. Why is it $24000 for a cap? They only made one or something?”.
Astounded by the cost of the two hats, the rapper wanted to know why they were priced in the thousands.
2Chainz was told about the expensive materials that went behind the hats. While both the caps featured gold snakeskin and diamonds, the black one was made entirely of leather, which meant that it cost much more. The rapper eventually figured out why the hats had the numbers 8 and 24 printed on them, talking about how Kobe wore the two numbers during his career.
He went on to try out the $42,000 cap and even clicked a selfie. Talking about Kobe’s legacy, 2Chainz claimed that he had been watching the player right from the start of his career.
“Once in a lifetime, he put his blood sweat and tears in this game, the fact that he played for 20 years…”
he said, claiming that Bryant’s retirement was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that warranted the special tribute.
Still, 2Chainz seemed of the opinion that the two hats were a bit too expensive. He was told that the company had created only 8 and 24 pieces of the two hats, which somewhat quashed his fears.
A number of companies came out with products to honor Kobe Bryant on his retirement
In addition to New Era, it seems as if a range of companies sprung with exclusive products in the buildup to Kobe Bryant’s retirement in 2016. This includes AEG, which marketed the black cap seen above that was eventually priced at $38,000, according to SLAM.
As seen above, the cap in question featured both diamonds and gold, something company vice president Sean Ryan claimed was done to signify Kobe’s ‘spectacle.’
“Derek Jeter might have represented the blue-collar people of New York, but Kobe is more about showtime, so we had to think of diamonds and gold,” he had said in a bid to explain the price involved.
Licensed by the NBA and Kobe Inc. the hat in question was made out of gold snakeskin and had 3.5 ounces of 18-karat gold used in its construction. This was in addition to Nike, which announced April 13 as Mamba Day, and Swarovski, which released a custom jacket to honor the legend on his retirement.
