The Black Mamba vs. The King
As the last decade closed, the two premier stars in the NBA were Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Bryant, nicknamed the Black Mamba and LeBron nicknamed the King. Nike attempted to create a rival commercial similar to the Bird versus Magic Converse commercial from the mid-80s. Nike used puppet caricatures of the two superstars to market their individual shoes. Kobe made a trend setting shift when he asked Nike to design a low top basketball shoe that would sitll provide him with ankle support. LeBron still used a classic high top style but his shoes have been modern in every other aspect.