They’re also the reason Brunson was named NBA Finals MVP in unanimous fashion: a rarified air reserved for the likes of Stephen Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, and Michael Jordan.
Nevertheless, the immortalized baller finds himself on another list, joining Andre Iguodala, Dirk Nowitzki, Chauncey Billups, and Joe Dumars as the only NBA Finals MVPs in the last 40 years to never receive their own signature shoe.
And that’s exactly how it should be.
In a world full of self-promoters and individuals who identify as brands, Brunson is the rare company man who’s become enormous by not being afraid to build on the backs of giants.
Since signing with the Knicks for $113 million less than the market suggested, Brunson’s taken a similar approach with sponsor Nike, elevating the newly launched Kobe Brand rather than demanding a namesake sneaker of his own.
This counterintuitive approach to marketing wasn’t wild in 2022 when “Grinch” 6s cost a car note and Brunson appeared an All-Star reserve at best. However, the math has changed in recent years as Kobe Protros started to sit on shelves and Brunson became the Mecca’s Chosen Son.
Simply put, the Kobe Brand needs Jalen Brunson.
Just as Jordan Brand remained relevant in hoops across the ‘00s thanks to loyal ambassadors paid in PEs, the Kobe Brand, too, needs new stories, cities, and faces to sustain appeal in the ‘20s.
Brunson is the guy. He’s won high school, NCAA, and NBA championships in Nike Kobes. Moreover, his legacy being written in real-time—in major markets in front of young fans no less—is bringing the Kobe Protro series not just newness but also substance.
When it comes to high-profile Kobe Brand ambassadors, he’s also among the last ones left.
Since starting the Protro series in 2018, a handful of hoopers have been blessed with Player Exclusive Mamba makeups that turn heads in NBA action or even made their way to retail in extremely limited fashion.
In the 2020s, only the recently retired PJ Tucker, soon-to-be signature star Caitlin Clark, and Brunson have had their name and likeness attached to a Kobe Protro PE released to the public.
DeMar DeRozan has shined as a Kobe lifer, but turns 37 this fall. Oklahoma star Aaliyah Chavez appears next in line, but won’t be WNBA Draft eligible until 2029.
At 29, Brunson’s status as the most popular hooper in New York City further endears the Kobe cache to America’s biggest basketball shoe market. More importantly, it reintroduces it to a generation of kids who only know the Laker legend through YouTube clips.
Additionally, it leverages Brunson as a billboard for future Protro pairs and story-led PEs that latch onto new narratives. With much of the OG Kobe heat already cycled through, the need for fresh themes is a must in a world where resale perception still drives demand.
The decision to release Nike Kobe Protros in Team Bank form has been a bad one, watering down the perceived value of the line as statement shoes and taking away market share from superior new Nike models like the GT range.
Most importantly, the signature sneaker space is oversaturated.
Over the course of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, Brunson bested five different guards with their own signature shoes.
Even the biggest ball knowers would have to rack their brains to compile that list. Furthermore, they’d be hard pressed to name the model each opposing guard was wearing.
Nike alone claims seven active signature athletes across basketball with Caitlin Clark joining the fold this summer and Cade Cunningham expected to debut next season.
The signature shoe space is as crowded as ever and relatively flat when it comes to innovation, casual crossover, or offering anything all that compelling or fresh at retail. Most models today already draft off of Kobe DNA, why add another?
Even so, Nike still needs to up Brunson’s usage rate.
With Brunson, Nike possesses the rare talent not hellbent on building his own brand, yet completely cool with raising the profile of others. His Instagram feed is as much paid partner content as it is galleries of game shots.
Across Kobes, Brunson boasts almost a dozen unreleased PEs that would smash at SNKRS and big-box retailers alike.
He’s the unquestioned alpha dog in America’s biggest city, with hooks in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Jersey thanks to his amateur ascent. Perhaps more importantly, his small stature and upright image make him extremely marketable across Mainland Asia, where annual sneaker sales eclipse $19 billion in China alone.
With a little strategy, Brunson could become the best value at Beaverton.
He has New York City eating out of the palm of his hand, rebranding Black Mamba favorites in “Lady Liberty” looks with more hits in the chamber. NYC-tagged sportswear silos all get the championship bump, thanks largely to the small guard who made it happen.
Jalen doesn’t need the Nike Brunson 1—now, later, or ever—to have an outsized impact on the business of basketball shoes and sneaker culture in two hemispheres. All he needs is a few quarterly colorways from the Kobe line, made to the exact specifications of the King of New York.
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