Kentucky basketball hand-picked as first Mamba program by Kobe Bryant’s widow

Kentucky has taken advantage of its sponsorship as a Nike program for some time now. However, that was just taken to a whole new level due to an honor bestowed on them by Vanessa Bryant, the widow of the late great Kobe Bryant.

Per Jack Pilgrim of Kentucky Sports Radio, Bryant has selected Kentucky as the inaugural ‘Mamba Program’. The partnership will include unique and exclusive gear for the Wildcats under Bryant’s brand over the next few years.

“The Wildcats will wear exclusive Kentucky-themed Kobe sneakers and apparel this season, sources tell KSR,” wrote Pilgrim. “Special uniforms featuring the Mamba logo are also possible in the future.”

Pilgrim added that Kentucky is just the first for this collaboration as others will join in “over the course of the multi-year rollout”.

This isn’t the first time that these two sides have crossed paths. A year ago in October, John Calipari hosted a Mamba Skills Academy at Memorial Coliseum on UK’s campus with Natalia Bryant, Kobe’s oldest child, in attendance. The camp was held for free for underserved children.

“This is the first partnership with any university,” Kat Conlon, executive director of the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, told media in attendance. “Coach Calipari and Kobe Bryant had a very special relationship, so anything we can do with the foundation that continues to tell the stories of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, we are all game for it with the foundation.”

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