September 03, 2004

Sluggish sales prompted a split between Kobe and adidas. Shortly before Eagle, Kobe signed with Nike for about $45 million over five years. That's a pittance next to the $90 million over seven years that Nike gave LeBron James, a kid who hadn't played anything but high-school ball. A Los Angeles Times story examined the question of Kobe's "street credibility." Several marketing experts were quoted as saying Kobe hadn't proven to have sneaker-selling power. David Carter of Sports Business Corporation in Los Angeles said: "You've heard a lot being made about street credibility the last month or so. I think both those guys (Kobe and LeBron) have street credibility. It's just that their streets are in different neighborhoods." That, perhaps, wounded Kobe's pride. He set up a meeting with L.A. Times editors to complain about that story and others he said delved too deeply into his off-court life. That Kobe was intensely private. Then Eagle happened. Soon, Kobe began playing the "bad boy" role by getting his first visible tattoos. Does this strike anyone else as the perfect explanation of why a pack of NBA hot dogs couldn't beat a bunch of gawky white guys with no vowels in their last names? It doesn't really matter how good the Lakers are. It's all about Kobe's endorsement juice.

posted by dzot at 03:14 PM on September 03, 2004

cg1001: are you kidding me???

posted by smithers at 01:01 PM on September 04, 2004

We'll see. That's why they play the games.

posted by cg1001a at 07:11 PM on September 04, 2004