The New York Knicks‘ remarkable season is getting its latest recognition.

Tom Thibodeau, the team’s head coach, was named NBA Coach of the Year on Monday. This marks Thibodeau’s second time winning the award, the first being in 2011 with the Chicago Bulls, as well as the first time a Knicks coach has won the award since Pat Riley in the 1992-93 season. In Thibodeau’s first season at the helm, the Knicks finished with a 41-31 record in the shortened 2020-2021 season, good enough for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. This came after a 12th place finish last season and low expectations for the team coming into this season. The Knicks had not reached the playoffs since the 2012-2013 season, and few believed that they could reach the playoffs in Thibodeau’s first campaign.

Working in tandem with Thibodeau’s coaching was the emergence of forward Julius Randle.  Randle had a breakout season, averaging 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. Randle received his first All-Star Game nod and won the NBA Most Improved Player award. Randle helped lead the Knicks to home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, he did not play up to his regular-season standard in the playoffs, and the Knicks were eliminated in five games by the Atlanta Hawks.

With a young, developing group who showed promise this season, Thibodeau has plenty to work with going forward. The Knicks are poised to be a presence in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the coming years under his leadership.

The superstar quarterback of the Green Bay Packers has no plans of returning to the team anytime soon.

Aaron Rodgers has yet to be seen at the Packers’ practice facility this offseason, including at the mandatory minicamp that began on Tuesday. Rodgers’ penalty for missing the entire three-day camp would be fines worth $93,085. If Rodgers continues to be a no-show for training camp, he would be fined $50,000 per day. The quarterback has already lost his $500,000 workout bonus due to his lack of attendance at previous events.

The Packers’ front office has been attempting to communicate and improve their relationship with Rodgers, but thus far they have been unsuccessful. This stems from an April 29 report that Rodgers had no intention of returning to the team, citing his treatment by the front office as his main motivation to leave Green Bay. Part of this is due to how the team has approached the draft. The Packers have yet to select an offensive weapon for Rodgers in the first round in the entirety of his time as QB1. This string of drafting culminated in 2020 with the first-round pick of Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, who to all eyes seemed to be the heir apparent to Rodgers. The front office also did not keep Rodgers in the loop on their plans to make this pick, adding insult to injury for the Packers’ current quarterback.

While the Packers’ front office has stated on numerous occasions that they have no plans of trading or parting ways with Rodgers, he may be forcing their hand if he continues to spend time away from training camp. While the team may not be ready to hand the reins over to Love, they soon may have no choice but to trade Rodgers for players or draft capital.

The New York Giants lost one of their great coaches on Monday.

The team announced that Jim Fassel passed away at the age of 71. Fassel was the former head coach of the Giants from 1997 to 2003. He was known most notably for his ambitious claim that the Giants would make the playoffs late in the 2000 regular season. The team lived up to this statement and went on a run all the way to the Super Bowl, where they were defeated 34-7 by the Baltimore Ravens. Fassel posted a 58-53-1 record in his time with the Giants, including 2-3 in the postseason, and was named the 1997 NFL Coach of the Year.

Fassel was born in Anaheim, California, on August 31, 1949. He attended Fullerton College, USC and Long Beach State as a quarterback before being selected in the seventh round of the NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. After a brief stint in pro ball, he transitioned to coaching, taking the position of offensive coordinator with the Giants in 1991. He left after 1992 and went on to be a coordinator with the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals before returning to the Giants as their new head coach. In his first season at the helm, Fassel posted a 10-5-1 record, winning an NFC East title after the team had missed the playoffs five of the past six years and had not won a division crown since 1990.

His most famed moment came midway through the 2000 regular season, when the Giants sat at 7-4. Leading up to a matchup against the Cardinals, Fassel declared “I’ll take full responsibility. I’m raising the stakes right now. This is a poker game, I’m shoving my chips to the middle of the table, I’m raising the ante. Anybody wants in, get in. Anybody wants out, get out. This team is going to the playoffs. OK. This team is going to the playoffs.” Putting his career on the line paid off, as the Giants beat the Cardinals 31-7, and would go on a five-game win streak to close out the season and win Fassel’s second NFC East title. He would reach the postseason one more time, as a Wild Card team in 2002, before being let go in 2003.

The Philadelphia Eagles have announced their newest vice president of football operations.

The team stated that Catherine Raîche will be taking over the position. Raîche had previously been the Eagles’ football operations coordinator, as well as the director of football administration for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 2018 and 2019. Raîche will be making history as the first female vice president of football operations in the NFL, and the second female executive on an NFL team (the first being Kelly Kleine, the executive director of football operations for the Denver Broncos).

Raîche is filling the role left by Matthew Berry, who became the new general manager of the Cleveland Browns in 2020. The Eagles have been struggling with some front office issues, most recently between quarterback Carson Wentz and head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Howie Roseman. This resulted in Pederson being fired and Wentz being traded to the Indianapolis Colts.

Raîche will now be stepping into a bigger role in this front office, and will try to right the ship and improve from the Eagles’ 4-11-1 last-place finish last season.

Tim Tebow’s attempt at a return to the gridiron seems to have inspired some other players to come back.

Former NFL running back Brandon Jacobs has announced that he wants to make a return to the NFL, as a defensive end this time. Jacobs seemed motivation by Tebow’s decision to try to play tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars. “Well since Tebow came back after being off a good bit, I am announcing today that I to will comeback. I will play defensive end for whatever team gives me a chance!!!” He followed up this statement on Twitter by saying, “I am really serious about coming back as a defensive end. I can still run, I am strong and there’s no way Tim Tebow is a better athlete than I am. I just need a shot that’s it!! If I can’t cut it I’ll take it like a man. Just give me one chance that’s all!!”

Jacobs is a former two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants. Throughout his career, he recorded 5,094 rushing yards and 60 rushing touchdowns. If Jacobs were able to make a successful comeback, it would be quite impressive, as he has not played in the NFL since the 2012-2013 season, and is now 38 years old. However, Tebow’s return has opened the door to NFL veterans, spreading a previously unheard of belief that a comeback is possible in professional football.

For the first time since 2012, Chelsea will hoist the trophy as winners of the Champions League.

The team defeated Manchester City by a score of 1-0 on Saturday, marking their third victory over Man City this year. The team was led by a new coach, Thomas Tuchel, who took over the position of manager in January, beginning his tenure with a 14-game winning streak. Tuchel had previously been the manager of Paris Saint-Germain, where he finished runner-up in the 2019-2020 Champions League.

The decisive goal in the match was scored by Kai Havertz in the 42nd minute, his first ever goal in the Champions League. Chelsea signed Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen last summer for £88 million. On the flip side, the most dominant offense in the premier league, Man City, was befuddled by Chelsea’s defensive strategies, getting only one shot on goal the entire match. City manager Pep Guardiola chose a more attack-heavy starting 11, benching some of his defensive midfielders at the beginning of the match.

Also of note in the match was the presence of Christian Pulisic on Chelsea, who entered the game in the second half as a sub. Pulisic became only the the second male U.S. international, after Borussia Dortmund forward Jovan Kirovski in 1997, to be on a team that won the Champions League. This marks Chelsea’s second ever Champions League trophy, which required defeated both perennial contender Real Madrid in the semifinals as well as defending Premier League champions Manchester City in the title match.

Alex Ovechkin has no plans of leaving the team that drafted him 17 years ago.

The captain of the Washington Capitals announced that he believes he will reach a new contract with the team soon. Ovechkin is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, as his previous contract with the Capitals, for 13 years and $124 million ends this season. Ovechkin has been in conversations with team owner Ted Leonsis as well as general manager Brian MacLellan, and believes that a deal is imminent.

The Capitals were just eliminated from the NHL Playoffs in the first round on Sunday, when the franchise lost to the Boston Bruins by a score of 3-1, losing the series 4-1. This marks the third consecutive year that the Capitals have lost in the first round of the playoffs, a decline from their Stanley Cup championship in 2018. This season also marks the first time in his career that Ovechkin scored fewer than 30 goals, though the NHL did only play a 56-game regular season.

Ovechkin also faced a number of injuries throughout the season, including a leg injury just before the start of the playoffs which will prevent him from joining Team Russia at the IIHF World Championships in Latvia. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ovechkin was asking for around $12.5 million per year, which would match the most expensive contract in the league, held by Edminton’s Conor McDavid. Nevertheless, Leonsis has made it clear that they have every intention of resigning Ovechkin, regardless of the length of contract he desires. “Alex knows that if he plays five more years, 10 more years, whatever it is, we’ve got his back,” Leonsis said. “Our commitment to him is to continue to have great teams. We’ll spend to the cap; we’ll try to win championships. And that’s what he’s focused on, because that will be his legacy.”

The first postseason game in Madison Square Garden in eight years did not go the way Knicks fans hoped.

The Atlanta Hawks took the first game of the first-round matchup against the New York Knicks, scraping out a 107-105 victory bolstered by the performance of star guard Trae Young. In his first ever appearance in the NBA playoffs, Young put the Hawks on his back, putting up 32 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Young became the fourth player in NBA history with 30 points and 10 assists in his playoff debut, joining Derrick Rose, Chris Paul and LeBron James in that elite category.

Young also hit the game-winning floater with 0.9 seconds left in the game, following it by turning to the crowd to shush them. Despite what the Knicks faithful felt about the fourth quarter, Young’s performance, particularly in the clutch late in the game, is impressive for someone in their first ever playoff game in one of the most prominent venues in the sport.

However, some fans did take exception to the manner in which he played the game, including New York City Mayor Bil de Blasio (D). In a press conference on Tuesday, de Blasio called out Young. “Message to Trae Young, on behalf of the people of New York City and anyone who cares about actually playing basketball the right way: Stop hunting for fouls, Trae,” de Blasio said. “I want to quote Steve Nash, one of the great players, great coaches. He says, ‘That’s not basketball.’”

It is unusual for political figures to openly be involved in sports, much less call out a specific player on a team for on-court actions. This came after de Blasio received criticism last week for wearing a Brooklyn Nets jersey and hat to his press conference.

The Hawks and Knicks will meet again at the Garden for Game 2 on Wednesday at 7:30 pm EST, where Young will have another opportunity to play the the villain in front of the New York fans.

Dino Gaudio has found himself in trouble with the federal authorities.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Kentucky announced that the former Louisville assistant coach had been charged with one federal count of extortion against the school, in the form of money and other valuable assets. Gaudio reportedly threatened members of Louisville staff in a meeting on March 17, telling them he would “report to the media allegations that the University of Louisville men’s basketball program had violated [NCAA] rules in its production of recruiting videos for prospective student-athletes and its use of graduate assistants in practice, unless the University of Louisville paid [Gaudio] his salary for an additional 17 months or provided the lump sum equivalent of 17 months of salary.” Later that day, Gaudio confirmed to Louisville that he was in fact able to expose them, sending a text which contained one of the recruiting videos. Since this text traveled outside of the state of Kentucky, Gaudio is being charged with interstate communication with intent to extort.

Gaudio’s attempt to extort the university began when he was notified that his contract would not be renewed. He had spent three seasons with the program under head coach Chris Mack. Gaudio earned his first head coaching job in 2007 at Wake Forest, where he amassed a record of 61-31 over three seasons, reaching the NCAA tournament twice. He then became a college basketball analyst at ESPN, working there until 2018 when he joined Louisville’s staff. After being unable to make the NCAA tournament the past two seasons, Louisville’s coaching staff underwent changes, which included the firing of Gaudio as well as assistant Luke Murray.

Under federal law, Gaudio could face up to two years in prison, and is eligible for probation.

The Miami Heat will be without their starting shooting guard for the remainder of the season.

The team announced on Wednesday that Victor Oladipo will be undergoing season-ending surgery on his right quadriceps tendon. Oladipo traveled to New York to have his surgery on Thursday. There is no timeline for his return, as he has been sidelined since April 8, when he injured his right knee in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. This is not the first time Oladipo has had issues with his right quadriceps tendon. In 2019, while still a member of the Indiana Pacers, Oladipo ruptured it, leading to an extensive recovery process. He missed the rest of 2019 following that injury, returning to the floor in January 2020.

Oladipo has been active on the trading block over the past year. He was initially traded from the Pacers to the Houston Rockets in January, in part of the three-team trade that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. After a short stint in Houston, he was traded once again to the Heat in March, in exchange for Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and the right to swap 2022 first-round picks. Oladipo will be a free agent following this season, and now he will be unable to partake in the Heat’s late-season push for the playoffs, which may have increased his worth to prospective teams.

Oladipo first burst onto the scene with the Pacers in the 2017-2018 season, earning All-NBA honors, but following his injury, he has been unable to maintain the same levels of efficiency and production. With him sidelined, the Heat will look to Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and young stars such as Tyler Herro to make a run in the postseason.

Colt Brennan, former star quarterback at the University of Hawaii, has died at 37, the school stated on Tuesday.

Brennan had been at a rehabilitation center when he was discovered unconscious in his room earlier this week. Brennan had been there for five months, taking part in an inpatient treatment program. His passing came as a shock, as his family believed that he had been improving throughout his time in the facility.

Brennan started at quarterback for the Hawaii Warriors for three years, from 2005-2007, and played a pivotal role in elevating the program to previously unseen heights. He led the NCAA in both passing yards and passing touchdowns in 2005 and 2006. He holds the record for most career touchdown passes in Western Athletic Conference history, with 131. This also ranks fourth in NCAA history. He holds the NCAA record for most games with at least 400 passing yards, with 20, and is tied for the record of most touchdowns between a quarterback and receiver, at 39 with Davone Bess.

In his final season at Hawaii, he led an undefeated Warriors team to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to Georgia. Following his college career, he was drafted in the sixth round of the NFL draft by the Washington Football Team, but never saw the field in an NFL game. He was eventually released in 2010.

Brett Favre does not think the Green Bay Packers’ current starting quarterback will be suiting up for them this coming NFL season.

The former Packers quarterback stated on Wednesday that he does not believe that superstar Aaron Rodgers will be returning to the team. When speaking on the divide between Rodgers and the team on Wilde & Tausch, Farve said, “I just don’t see him coming back and just saying, ‘All right, let’s just bury the hatchet, whatever caused the rift, and I’m just going to come back and play because I love the guys, I love the Green Bay fans’ — I assume he does — but his rift isn’t with the fans or the players… If there’s not a trade, my gut tells me that he’d rather sit out than play.”

Favre is known for his own departure from the Packers in 2008, when he was traded to the New York Jets in the wake of the ascendance of Rodgers himself. Now Rodgers has been dominating the NFL headlines since the first day of the NFL draft, when it was reported that he did not plan on returning to the team. For years there has been discussion about Rodgers’ lack of help from the Packers’ front office, particularly in the draft, as they have yet to draft a single first-round skill position player in his time as quarterback. This was exacerbated in the 2020 NFL Draft, when the Packers traded up in the first round to select Utah State quarterback Jordan Love, the likely successor to Rodgers.

After a frustrating end to the season in the NFC Championship game, it appears to many, including Favre, that the relationship between Rodgers and Green Bay’s front office is irreparable. The main question presently is whether he will become the QB1 for a new team, or stay sidelined for the entire 2021 season.

Stay tuned for more updates. More dominoes could be falling soon in the Rodgers-Packers situation.

The Dallas Cowboys are parting ways with one of their defensive linemen.

The team announced on Wednesday that they released nose tackle Antwaun Woods. Woods had been in and out of the lineup over the past three years, starting in 32 games from 2018 to 2020. Last season, he recorded 33 tackles, four quarterback pressures and one sack. He was set to make $2.1 million as a restricted free agent. After starting off strong for the Cowboys in 2018, starting in all but one game, Woods started in only seven games last season.

This move comes in the wake of the 2021 NFL Draft, in which the Cowboys made the defensive line a priority as they continue their reconstruction of the defense. The team took interior rusher Osa Odighizuwa out of UCLA in the third round, and Quinton Bohanna out of Kentucky in the sixth round.

The Cowboys allowed 29.4 points per game last season, which ranked fifth-worst in the NFL. The team has made a few other moves on their roster this week, including waiving cornerback Saivion Smith in the wake of drafting Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright in the second and third rounds, as well as releasing center Adam Redmond, defensive tackle Walter Palmore, defensive end LaDarius Hamilton and cornerback Kemon Hall.

In an NFC East which sported a division champion with a losing record last season, upgrading on the defensive end may be the Cowboys’ key to returning to the playoffs.

In a time when clutch performances are necessary, Lonzo Ball is stepping up for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Ball tied a career high by putting up 33 points Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors, including a step-back 18-foot dagger off of one leg to seal the win for the Pelicans with 25.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter. This game followed an abysmal performance Monday night, also against the Warriors in which Ball shot 3 of 18 from the floor, and the Pelicans lost by 15. After that game, Ball texted teammate Zion Williamson, letting him know that he would “be there tomorrow” for the rematch.

The Pelicans are in the midst of a crucial part of the season, as they attempt to make a push into the play-in tournament of the NBA Playoffs. They currently sit two games behind the San Antonio Spurs, who currently hold the 10th seed in the Western Conference. Looking ahead, the Pelicans have a somewhat difficult road, as they start a five-game road trip against the Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies and the Warriors, before ending at home against the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the Spurs currently have the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA.

Ball following up on his text to Williamson is promising, especially considering this is the second time in three games he has scored 33 points. The Pelicans will need their guard to be on point down the stretch if they want a chance to play postseason ball.

The commissioner of Major League Baseball has come out with a ballpark estimate for possible expansion team fees.

Rob Manfred stated on Tuesday that he expects the cost for a potential expansion team to join the league to be around $2.2 billion. This is based on the average value of current MLB franchises, which falls close to that number. Baseball has not had an expansion at the major league level since 1998, when the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays paid $130 million to join the league. Prior to that, the Colorado Rockies and the Miami Marlins paid $95 million in 1993.

Manfred has said in the past that he will not consider an expansion for the league until the Rays and the Oakland Athletics have new stadiums. This could take some time to develop, as Oakland has a proposal for a stadium in the Howard Terminal area, which is in the downtown part of the city, while Tampa will not act until 2028, when their lease at Tropicana Field ends. The team has said they will look into splitting time between Tampa and Montreal starting that year. However, nothing is final as of now.

Manfred has listed a number of possible locations for an expansion team, including Charlotte, North Carolina; Las Vegas; Montreal; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia.

In the same statement, Manfred spoke about the MLB’s decision to move the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Colorado following changes to Georgia’s voting laws. Manfred said that he believed it was the right thing to do for baseball, and that it protected the players from having to make any moral or political decisions in regard to the game.

Marcelo may be unable to play in Real Madrid’s upcoming Champions League match, but not for a reason one may expect.

The star defender was selected to be a poll worker in Spain’s upcoming election, which is taking place on May 4. Spaniards will be voting on representatives in the Madrid Assembly. By Spanish law, any registered voter in Spain is eligible to be chosen to work the polls. Marcelo, a native of Brazil, has been a Spanish citizen since 2011, placing him in the pool of possible constituents. When asked about the situation, Marcelo commented that he was “very upset by his electoral luck.”

Real Madrid is set to face off against Chelsea in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal bout on May 5. The first game ended in a 1-1 draw, making this matchup crucial for both teams, particularly for Real Madrid, who could break a potential tiebreaker by scoring more goals on the road than Chelsea has. However, the team is planning on traveling to London the day before the game, which coincides with the election. In addition, due to new COVID-19 protocols in place for the Champions League, Marcelo may be unable to make the trip the day of the match, putting his status in jeopardy.

Real Madrid is the most successful club in Champions League history, with 13 titles, most recently in 2018. However, it will be difficult to capture one this season if they are without one of their core pieces on the defensive side.

The Golden State Warriors are reaching new levels with their merchandise.

The team announced on Tuesday that they will be releasing a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Collection, becoming the first team in all professional sports to do so. The collection celebrates the team’s six NBA championships, and the digital items, which showcase some of the most famous games in Warriors history, will be sold by auction. A portion of the revenue collected from the NFT Collection will go to the Warriors Community Foundation, which has provided funding for educational equality since its founding in 2012.

The auction includes a number of items in the main collection as well as some 1-of-1 pieces. Both forms of NFTs can currently be bid on, with the main collection auction ending on Saturday, May, 1 at 8 pm PDT and the 1-of-1 auctions ending on Sunday, May 2 at 8 pm PDT.

Two of the most coveted collections are the Warriors Championship Ring NFTs and the Commemorative Ticket Stub NFTs. The Warriors Championship Ring NFT displays the team’s six NBA Championship Rings, which date from 1947-2018, as well as a 1-of-1 Warriors Six-Time NBA Champion Ring, which combines all six championships. The Warriors Commemorative Ticket Stub NFTs will depict some of the most memorable moments in franchise history, including “The First Ever NBA Championship (Game 5, 1947),” “1956 NBA Championship (NBA Finals Game 5)” and more. All items will be sold to the highest bidder, so if interested, be sure to check out these NFTs and place a bid.

The long-time head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t be leaving anytime soon.

Mike Tomlin has signed a contract extension with the Steelers through the 2024 NFL season. Tomlin first took the head coaching job in Pittsburgh in 2007, and has been extremely successful thus far, with two Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi trophy. In his 14 years with the team, Tomlin has a career record of 145-78-1, with nine playoff appearances and seven AFC North division championships. Tomlin is also one of only two coaches in NFL history to start his coaching career with 14 consecutive non-losing seasons.

Tomlin had one of his best coaching seasons in 2019, when he led the Steelers to an 8-8 record despite the absence of star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who suffered a season ending injury in week 2. After a fast start to the 2020 season, in which the Steelers at one point led the NFL with an 11-0 record, they faltered towards the end of the year, finishing the regular season with a 12-4 record, before losing at home on Wild Card Weekend to the Cleveland Browns.

The Steelers also have roster issues that they will have to address through free agency and the upcoming draft, particularly on the offensive line and at running back. In addition, they will need to figure out who the eventual successor to Roethlisberger will be, as he most likely will only play a few more seasons for the team. Nevertheless, extending Tomlin gives the team stability at the head coach position, a facet of the Steelers which has always existed, as they have had only three head coaches (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Tomlin) since 1969.

Scottie Pippen, former small forward for the Chicago Bulls, has announced that his son Antron Pippen has died.

Antron was a former basketball player as well, having a successful high school career and being within the top 100 prospects in his age group for periods of time. He played college ball as a guard for Southern Georgia Technical College as well as Texas A&M International University. In a statement on Monday, Pippen said, “I’m heartbroken to share that yesterday, I said goodbye to my firstborn son Antron. The two of us shared a love for basketball and we had countless conversations about the game. Antron suffered from chronic asthma and if he hadn’t had it, I truly believe he would’ve made it to the NBA. He never let that get him down, though—Antron stayed positive and worked hard, and I am so proud of the man that he became.”

Pippen, a six-time NBA champion, had eight children, but Antron was his only child from his first marriage to Karen McCollum. He did not disclose a cause of death, but simply asked that people keep him and his family in their thoughts. “Please keep his mom, Karen, and all of his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. A kind heart and beautiful soul gone way too soon. I love you, son, rest easy until we meet again,” Pippen said in a statement on Instagram.

The Black Mamba will no longer be selling shoes through Nike.

In a statement on Monday night, Vanessa Bryant announced that the Kobe Bryant estate will not be renewing their contract with Nike. Bryant’s deal with Nike, which was one of the most successful of all athletes, expired on April 13, 2021, and it will not be picked up again. The estate had growing frustrations over the past few years regarding the lack of availability of Bryant’s shoes, stemming from his retirement five years ago and exacerbated by his death in a helicopter crash in January 2020. Bryant was known for extending his resources and influence to many different groups of people, and the estate also felt that there were not enough shoe options in kids’ sizes.

Prior to his death, Bryant had explored options other than Nike in preparation for the expiration of his contract. He met with a creative agency in December 2019 to see if he could start his own Mamba apparel line. Bryant first began his partnership with Nike in 2003, and had 11 signature models under the Nike Kobe series. Bryant was at the forefront of sneaker culture in the NBA, as his Kobe 4 led to a wave of players switching to low tops, with nearly half the league wearing them now. Following retirement, Bryant released a series of “Protro” sneakers, a term of his own, signifying retro kicks that were updated with modern technology.

Despite Bryant’s passing, his legacy and impact in the league still remains strong, and in no field is that more evident than footwear. His brand was worn more than any other in the 2020 NBA bubble, and a number of players, including current Los Angeles Lakers guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Talen Horton-Tucker, have stated that they plan on exclusively wearing Kobe shoes.