It's been just under a year since the death of basketball player, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and legend Kobe Bryant, and while we continue to mourn his passing, Shervin Pishevar has unveiled that the late NBA star was actually thinking of leaving Nike to start his own sneaker brand called Mamba.

Recalling a time when they met back in December 2019, Pishevar states that Bryant "wasn’t happy with Nike and was going to leave it in 2020". Kobe expressed his annoyance over the Beaverton brand's marketing strategy, citing a dip in shoe sales.

According to the Virgin Hyperloop co-founder, his team created very early designs for the "Black Mamba" silhouette which boasted a snakeskin texture and a fitness tracker that attached to the heel using a strong magnet. This was supposed to connect to a dedicated fitness app that offered integrated coaching and motivational features. Screenshots were also shown with meeting details that included the likes of Gina Ford who manages Usain Bolt.

"What he was about to do in business was going to eclipse his sports career." explained Pishevar. While we may never ever see the Mamba brand, it's interesting to see what could have been. Let us know what you think of this, and in related news, this Nike Dunk Low was made exclusively for EKIN employees.