Kobe Bryant will bid farewell to the NBA tonight, and while his basketball and sneaker legacy will live on, this XI Elite will go down in history as the last pair he played in. In what is perhaps the most appropriate colorway ever, Bryant will lace up the "Fade to Black" Nike Kobe XI Elite during his final game.
This is part of the pack created by Nike to honor both his extraordinary career and popular signature sneaker collection, starting with a white Kobe 1, and fading darker all the way to today's release of the black and gold XIs. Like all of the sneakers in the pack, fans from all walks of life put their best efforts forward to own a part of history. Some of these fans include other NBA players, many of whom also laced up this pair tonight. Bryant has been known to gift his sneakers to other players after games, but nobody would blame him if he kept these for himself. He's earned them.
