USC Basketball: Vanessa Bryant Gifts Teams With New Kobe Shoes

The Trojans received new kicks ahead of their season debut.

Both USC basketball teams were gifted unreleased Kobe Reverse Grinch shoes by the Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Fame shooting guard's widow, Vanessa Bryant, ahead of their respective season debuts in Las Vegas on Monday.

The shoes, which are bright red with neon green laces, earned an excited response from both teams.

New season, new kicks 👟

Thank you Vanessa Bryant and The Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation for your support! pic.twitter.com/4QiSpbKdaC

— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) November 6, 2023

"We truly appreciate it, thank you for your support," said starting USC Trojans men's guard Boogie Ellis, who likes to rock the traditional Kobe 6 Protro Grinch shoe. "Fight on and we appreciate the shoes." 

When USC women's basketball head coach Linsey Gottlieb announced that the team had received a gift from Vanessa Bryant, they knew something special was coming, as you can see in the below video from this tweet via the USC women's program.

game day kicks ready to rock.

appreciate the support from Vanessa Bryant and The Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation 🐍✌️ pic.twitter.com/6eF5SHqmo6

— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) November 6, 2023

Both teams debuted their highly-touted freshman Monday night, as JuJu Watkins and Isaiah Collier impressed in their first starts as college athletes.

In the preseason, both teams were ranked as the No. 21 programs in the country. We'll see if they can do better as the season gets underway.

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