Kobe Bryant IV Sneakers

The Nike Zoom Kobe Bryant IV sneakers were recently introduced.  The Kobe 4 Low Top Basketball shoes weigh only 11.6 oz, lighter than the Nike Hyperdunk sneakers which every High School Basketball and Nike sponsored College basketball team currently wear. Check out the Kobe Bryant Nike video releasing the Kobe IV shoes.

Kobe is the best player in the NBA.  He was the best player in the High School basketball class of 1996 and Streetball.com has proof.  Check out the best Kobe Bryant High School basketball video ever made.

Find more Kobe Bryant videos like this on Streetball

Dwyane Wade

I’m back for my third episode of “Inside the Mind of Dwyane Wade.” The last time I ended in Las Vegas, where we were preparing for our trip to Beijing.  There were a few stops along the way, Macau and Shanghai.

We departed around 1 a.m. on Sunday on Cathay Pacific Airlines.  It was a great plane that had seats that turned into beds.  Well at least 12 of us got those seats! When we got to our seats we all received something to sleep in let’s just say I felt like Chris Tucker in “Rush Hour.”  The flight took about 14 hours so I spent that time sleeping and catching up on DVDs.

We arrived in Macau at about 5 a.m., which by this point was Monday.  The hotel that we stayed in was amazing, the Venetian Resort, probably one of the best hotels I’ve stayed in. It had so many amenities that you never had to leave the property, even the arena we played in was at the hotel.  The basketball fans at the hotel were very excited that we were staying there and we constantly got bombarded every where we went, especially walking with LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.  Now walking around by myself, maybe five people will rush me.  With them, its more like 500!  The fans chased us and we chased them just to have fun.

We did a lot of goofy things because we get real silly when we are all together. The first morning LeBron could not sleep so he woke everyone up at about 5:30 a.m. just to have breakfast at Cafe Deko.  We weren’t happy. By the end of the week we created a trend of having an early team breakfast which allowed us to continue to bond with each other.

By Saturday we were on an early flight to Shanghai.  We were only there for four days. We played two games in four days, it was like an NBA season.

We were really tired, but we made it work.  We beat Russia by 21 points — that’s when everyone started saying that USA might be beatable.  Just because we won by 21 and not 36.  The next game we played Australia and we won by nine points but it felt like we lost.  We know we didn’t play well and everyone started saying that Team USA really is beatable.  These types of games keep us humble and focused on what we need to do.

On Wednesday we headed to Beijing, a moment we have all waited for. The USA women’s team took a two hour bus ride and met us in Shanghai so that we could arrive in Beijing together, which was great. Once we got to Beijing we were met by a ton of fans all chanting the same thing: Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!

We’re staying at a hotel along with the woman’s basketball team, staff and our families. But once we got settled, one of the first things we did as a team was visit the Olympic Village. We wanted to meet and talk to some of our US swimmers, including Michael Phelps and the boxers — pretty much everyone who represents our country. People are making a big deal about us not staying in the Olympic Village and its important for us to let our fellow athletes know that we support them and want to be part of the full experience with them. So we’ve already visited the village twice in three days and will continue to go and hang out with athletes from other sports.

Last night was the opening ceremony and it was amazing. This was my second opening ceremony and the feeling did not change — it’s special taking that walk for your country. We had an opportunity to take a picture with George Bush, who was in attendance with his wife and father. He came to greet all of the US teams and took pictures with each team which was real cool. It was great to walk around and wave to the fans, especially those that were carrying USA banners. We had a great sense of pride last night.

Tomorrow we play China and it will be one of the most watched games because they are estimating that it will be over one billion viewers. The game features two of China’s favorite teams and two of China’s favorite players, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian. I think it’s a great game to start with and will just add to the Olympic excitement.

Dwyane Wade Video Blog

I’ll be back soon with an update from Beijing. Rest assured that we are focused and ready. We’re taking it one day at a time — and one game at a time.

For the second consecutive season, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers had the top selling NBA jersey in China. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, members of the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics, moved into the top five on this year’s list.

KG had the most popular NBA jersey in the U.S. this season, moved up to second this year in China. The Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady ranked third for the second consecutive season. Pierce, The 2008 NBA Finals MVP, whose jersey was not in the top 10 last season moved up to fourth. The Denver Nuggets’ Allen Iverson dropped from second on last year’s list to fifth to round out the top five. China’s Yao Ming from the Houston Rockets, ranked 10th on the list, down from six last year.

The rankings are based on sales from retail stores throughout China for the 2007-08 season. adidas is the official on-court uniform and apparel provider of the NBA.

NBA China merchandise is available in over 30,000 retail locations throughout Greater China, and revenue this year is expected to increase by more than 60 percent. The NBA and adidas have opened 29 branded basketball shops in China since March 2007. The league is now offering NBA broadcasts on 51 television stations and games and programming has surpassed one billion viewers for the second consecutive season.

Kobe Bryant can not be stopped.  When he’s not scoring 81 points or jumping over an Aston Martin, he releasing limited edition Back to the Future Marty McFly inspired Nike Hyperdunks just days before the official release of the Nike Hyperdunk Sneakers.

Kobe Bryant showed up in retro fashion, with the timeless classic DMC Delorean by his side. The first 10 people in line, got to meet Kobe Bryant, take a picture with him and even get his autograph on the highly sought after sneakers, after a long wait that extended past 24 hours.

Kobe Bryant’s McFly Nike Hyperdunk Sneakers

The Nike Hyperdunk sneakers deliver all the support you need on the court with the least amount of weight. Jump higher. Cut sharper. React faster. Be more explosive. The Nike Hyperdunk kicks represent the future, and the future begins in this year’s playoffs. The Hyperdunk sneakers will be released on July 26, 2008.  NBA MVP Kobe Bryant will be wearing the Nike Hyperdunk sneakers during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Kobe Bryant gained the respect of Streetball this past season.  He overcame public scrutiny by working hard and proving his game on the court.  He proved he a team player, he proved that he is the best basketball player in the world and he won back our respect one game at a time.  Hands down, it was the best season of Kobe Bryant’s career.  He won the NBA MVP and led the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals.

Now, Kobe Bryant is tasked with leading the USA Basketball Team to the Gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Team USA’s head coach Mike Krzyzewski said, “In Kobe we have a great player who wants to represent his country as much as anybody and he’s never had a chance. He’s like a little kid in his enthusiasm to play. Kobe’s presence here makes us more complete.”