I went down a rabbit hole this week looking at this photo shoot from 1997. Shot for Sports Illustrated by the legendary Walter Iooss Jr., it’s the kind of thing we just won’t see again. Of course, there will always be photoshoots for athletes, but to have an entire shoot for a rookie (in a general release sneaker like the adidas Top Ten 2000 at that!), who happened to have a fractured wrist, is just wild at this point. Not as wild as the cast being auctioned off back in 2010, or the fact that he broke it playing pickup ball at Venice Beach, which would absolutely not be allowed by any team or brand now, especially for a superstar like Kobe.The combination of all these things would just never happen in today’s overly calculated world of sneaker marketing. And that makes me appreciate these photos even more today.Hope everyone has a great weekend!
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