As a Cali kid growing up and being in middle school when Kobe Bryant hit the NBA, there was something about a young kid having his own shoe that drew me in.  At $100 it was a lot of scrap even then to convince my parents, but when you compare it to the $150 Air Jordans, the Adidas KB 8 was a much easier sell – especially when a hookup at Just For Feet could get them to me for 40% off.

Kobe Bryant was THE MAN to so many of my peers being a young guy in the league and to have his own shoe was something all of us dreamed of back then.