Bryant debuted in the Summer Pro League in Long Beach, California, scoring 25 points in front of a standing-room-only crowd. Defenders struggled to get in front of him, and his performance excited Jerry West. The Lakers made it to the Western Conference Semifinals that season, where Kobe assumed the leadership role because of injuries and fouls by his teammates. After the series, Shaq said that Kobe ‘was the only guy who had the guts at the time to take shots like that.’ Kobe went on to become one of the all-time greats, who we lost to young and to this day garners comparison to MJ. These are black and white 1996 ‘The Elevation’ - same model (different colorway) that he won the 96 Slam Dunk Contest in. Tagged MADE IN CHINA sz 13.5. Kobe has signed the inside collar of the left shoe and the outside collar of the right shoe, both in silver marker, in our opinion rating 8-9 overall. These shoes are properly marked, presented to us as game-used and in our opinion show appropriate wear. Accompanied by a JSA LOA.