LSU's women's basketball was seen wearing some new kicks in their Elite Eight victory over Miami over the weekend, courtesy of Vanessa Bryant.
The widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant gifted Lady Tigers players Nike Kobe 6 sneakers in the color Grinch.
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They were visibly excited, as evidenced by the images and videos shared to the team's Twitter page:
The team got Kobe 6 Grinches thanks to Vanessa Bryant 💚 pic.twitter.com/U9Rqvzus5w
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) March 25, 2023
— LSU Women's Basketball (@LSUwbkb) March 25, 2023
The surprise came after LSU had secured a spot in the Elite Eight for the first time 2008. After defeating the Hurricanes, the Lady Tigers will match up with Virginia Tech in the Final Four in Dallas on Friday.
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Why did Vanessa Bryant gift LSU women's basketball Kobe 6s?
Lady Tigers star Angel Reese told For the Win that Bryant is an LSU fan through her association with coach Kim Mulkey.
According to Reese, the two women met when Mulkey and Kobe Bryant were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, the year after Kobe and daughter Gianna "Gigi" Bryant died in a helicopter crash in California.
"She’s cool with Coach Kim,” Reese told For the Win. "She’s a fan . . . The shoes were fire. We got the win.”
Reese also told For the Win that Vanessa Bryant sent the team Kobe 6 Protro Mabacita Sweet 16s, which honored Kobe and Gigi, earlier in the season. but the team chose not to wear them out of respect for Gigi.
Tom Gatto contributed to this report.