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by DJ Frosty

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vanessa bryant

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Source: @dodgers / Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers definitely won MLB’s offseason when they signed both Shohei Ohtania and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and if that wasn’t enough, Vanessa Bryant went and blessed their players with an exclusive version of the highly popular Nike Kobe 6’s this past Saturday (April 13). 

To commemorate the anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s final game in the NBA (Mamba Day), Vanessa took to Dodger Stadium and gifted some of the players and managers a pair of the Kobe sneakers draped in white and Dodger blue. While sneakerheads were busy taking L’s on the Nike SNKRS app trying to hit on the Nike Kobe 4 Protro “Philly,” Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Italian Camo” and Nike Kobe 8 Protro “Venice Beach,”‘s, the Dodgers were getting exclusive pairs that we’ll probably never see get a general release.
Life is unfair sometimes, but it is what it is.

Needless to say the Dodgers players were more than happy to receive their gifts and being that they don’t need any extra money you probably won’t be seeing any of these hit the secondary market anytime soon. Maybe a bench warmer who gets cut from the team might bubble his pair. You never know.
Check out the “Dodgers” Nike Kobe 6’s below and let us know if you’d want to see these hit the streets in the comment section.

These are lowkey hard.

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Source: Variety / Getty / Vanessa Bryant
Joe Budden’s interview with the Pan African Avenger Dr. Umar Johnson continues to be the gift that keeps giving. Johnson is now under fire for saying something very ridiculous about Vanessa Bryant.
Dr. Umar had the internet talking about his unnecessary sitdown with The Joe Budden Podcast for saying Eminem is not a Hip-Hop GOAT and for putting pressure on Budden’s co-host Ish for his relationship with a white woman.
When it comes to Johnson, you can always count on him to say some completely outrageous nonsense if he’s given enough time to talk, and that was the case when Vanessa Bryant’s name came up.
The wife of the late Kobe Bryant has seen nothing but support following the tragic deaths of her husband and daughter, Gigi, but that didn’t stop the hater swirling to come for her with some completely unfounded accusations.
In the clip that has gone viral on X, formerly Twitter, Johnson accused Vanessa Bryant, who is of Mexican descent, of not using her husband’s money to help the Black community.
Johnson claims she “inherited [Kobe Bryant’s] wealth, and guess what? Is Vanessa Bryant using any of that Black man’s money to do any good in the Black community? Absolutely f****** not.”
When challenged on his claim, he responded, “She’s a public figure… I do know, and I’m telling you now. Vanessa Bryant just started an initiative with three predominantly white colleges, some sort of a sports initiative with Kobe’s money and Kobe’s name.”
He continued, “Didn’t choose a single HBCU [historically Black colleges and universities] with a Black man’s money.”

Is Dr. Umar Correct?
Of course, he isn’t. Vanessa Bryant and her late husband founded the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Foundation in 2007, and one of its missions is to provide scholarships to minority college students and other youth globally.
It has since been changed to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation to honor Bryant and his daughter.
The JBP pushed back again on Johnson’s claims, adding there are notable Black celebrities who don’t give back to the Black community, and as expected, the man full of hot air had a response for that.
“There’s a difference, and you know what the difference is? If I marry a white woman, when I die, my wealth goes to the very people who robbed everything from my community.”
Yeah, sure.
Vanessa Bryant hasn’t responded to Johnson’s wild claims, but she doesn’t have to; social media is doing the job for her.
“Vanessa Bryant woke up one morning and never saw her husband and daughter again, and she is still (seemingly) functioning. If that woman puts all of Kobe’s money in a fuckin tissue box and wipes her tears with it every day, she deserves to do that,” one X user wrote. 
Others point out how Johnson has failed to deliver to the school he’s been asking for donations for since 2014.

Welp.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.

Photo: Variety / Getty

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Source: Nike Basketball / Nike Basketball
While sneakerheads are upset at how Kobe Day went down on the SNKRS app due to the paltry number of Kobe Bryant sneakers available (lots of people got their orders canceled too), we still have to respect the fact that Vanessa Bryant is out here doing good in honor of her late-great husband with the help of Nike.

Weeks after announcing that the University of Kentucky would be the first college program to implement the Mamba Program, Nice Kicks is reporting that Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram to announce that five other colleges have been chosen to follow suit and the Mamba Program will now be extended to include the UConn Huskies, Oregon Ducks, LSU Tigers, USC Trojans, and Duke Blue Devils.

Posting the colleges on her IG page, Mrs. Bryant wrote “We are grateful for the amazing support of these prestigious universities (in no particular order) towards the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation – to further the legacies of Kobe and Gigi! So excited to see their players wearing Kobe and Gigi’s NIKE”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw01McMS9aU/
Nice Kicks reports:
Nike will support all the division 1 student-athletes from the select schools with exclusive sneakers and apparel connected to the Nike Kobe brand, as well as the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
Created in the loving memory of Kobe and Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting underserved athletes through funding and sports programming. The foundation upholds Kobe and Gigi’s vision of a world where young boys and girls have equal opportunity in sports and life.
All of the select universities have connections to Kobe and the Bryant family, exemplifying the Mamba ethos that basketball is deeper than the game.
Well, at least some heads out there will be rocking Kobe Bryant sneakers no thanks to the Nike SNKRS app. Yeah, we still salty about those drops.
Seriously though, this is hella cool and we know those kids will be excited to be draped down in Nike x Kobe x Gigi attire for the next few seasons. Congratulations, y’all.

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“Sim-simma, who got the keys to my Bimmer?” opens the chorus to Beenie Man’s 1997 hit “Who Am I.” Could you finish the lyrics based solely on “sim-simma”? On Tuesday, La La Anthony tested her famous friends’ lyrical knowledge via a video posted to Instagram. Featuring celebrity pals like Kim Kardashian and Ciara, La La […]

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Source: JC Olivera / Getty
We’re still a week and change away from celebrating Kobe Day, but thanks to Nike, the legacy of one Kobe Bean Bryant is continuously finding new ways to live on. The University of Kentucky has been chosen to be the first school to implement the inaugural Mamba Program.

According to Hypebeast, Vanessa Bryant handpicked coach John Calipari’s program to initiate the Mamba Program. The program will have its players sporting Mamba-branded attire including apparel and sneakers such as the Kobe 11s, which will feature the UK branding on the insoles along with the Mamba logo on the tongue for the 2023/24 season.

Y’all know those Kentucky Wildcat players are going to be balling extra hard this season in those… if they don’t resell them anyway.
Hypebeast reports:
Prior to the official partnership, the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, a charitable foundation conceived in memory of Kobe and his daughter Gianna “GiGi” Bryant, presented the team with Mambacita Kobe 4s during Kentucky’s venture to Toronto’s GLOBL JAM. Coach Calipari also became the recipient of a personal gesture from the Bryant family, receiving a pair of Mambacitas, a Gigi Bryant jersey and Kobe’s book, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play.
Kentucky’s deep connection with the Bryant legacy was further exemplified when the state hosted the Mamba Skills Academy last year, an initiative offering free basketball training to underprivileged children. Kobe’s eldest daughter, Natalia Bryant, along with the foundation, was part of the program.
Touching on the inaugural Mamba Program, Kat Conlon, the executive director of the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, shared “This is the first partnership with any university,” adding “Coach Calipari and Kobe Bryant had a very special relationship, so anything we can do with the foundation that continues to tell the stories of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, we are all game for it with the foundation.”
Y’all know those exclusive UK Kobe kicks are going to be going for a stack on the secondary market. Just sayin’.
Check out this throwback video of Calipari getting some exclusive Kobe kicks below, and let us know your thoughts on Nike’s latest venture in the comments section below.

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