Prior to embarking on his short-lived signature shoe journey with adidas, Kobe Bryant was projected to be a pivotal building block of adidas Basketball’s long term plan. In 1996, adidas nabbed the prep-to-pro star before that legendary NBA Draft, and soon enough number 8 for the Lakers was giving the brand’s EQT footwear some warmth in the spotlight via his All-Star Game appearances and even his Dunk Contest win in 1997.
He was eventually blessed with a pseudo-signature line known as the KB8. Frankly, the third model of this timeline was Kobe’s least favorite; the KB8 III didn’t see much court time and the available colorways were rather sparse as adidas was ready to roll out the first true signature shoe, the adidas The KOBE.
Despite it being a short-lived and unmemorable chapter of the adidas Kobe era, it unwittingly became one of the most notorious sneakers of the late 2010s. Sleeping quietly in the archives, the KB8 III was unearthed by Kanye West (now known as Ye), who borrowed the original sole of the EQT basketball shoe for the Yeezy 500. That chunky sneaker became one of the most successful models of the adidas Yeezy era.
In 2026, adidas will continue to revisit its time with the five-time champion by bringing back the EQT KB8 III in original colorways. Now named the adidas Crazy 3 for legal reasons, this classic Kobe basketball model is expected to launch Spring/Summer 2026 for $160 in Core White/Core Black/Collegiate Purple and Silver Metallic/Core Black/Halo Silver. Images have not surfaced yet, so stay tuned for ongoing updates as we near the new year.
WHERE TO BUY
WHERE TO BUY
