Nike declares April 13 ‘Mamba Day’ in honor of Kobe Bryant

Nike will honor Kobe Bryant with "Mamba Day" on April 13.

As Kobe Bryant’s career fades to black—as Nike likes to tell us—the Oregon-based footwear and apparel brand has declared April 13 "Mamba Day" and enlisted the help of a full range of Nike athletes to help commemorate Kobe’s career.

As a “metaphoric nod to Bryant’s golden career fading to black” a group of Nike-sponsored athletes will wear black and gold shoes, starting with Rory McIlroy offering up gold on his golf shoes during the opening round of The Masters.

Expect to see Mike Trout, Carli Lloyd and many others join in the black and gold celebration between now and April 13, when the Lakers host Utah in Kobe’s final NBA game. Nike also will have athletes sharing tributes about Kobe, as seen in this teaser video.

[youtube:https://youtu.be/1Hi0skAwlHM]

That day, April 13, will go down as Mamba Day.

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Courtesy of Nike

Tim Newcomb covers sports aesthetics—stadiums to sneakers—and training for Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.