Vlad Jr. Pays Tribute to Childhood Hero Kobe Bryant as Jays Play in L.A.

Vlad Guerrero Jr. grew up watching his dad play for the Angels in Los Angeles. But there was another Hall of Famer playing in L.A. that little Vladdy watched very closely as well.

As the Blue Jays take on the Angels this week in Los Angeles, Vlad Jr. will be honouring his childhood hero, the late great Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, and his daughter Gianna, by wearing these specially-designed cleats during the games.

Have a look:

The Jumpman23 cleats were hand-painted by New Jersey artist Michael Jordan (yes, that’s his name—but no, not that  Michael Jordan). Vladdy came to him with the request in June, and had been thinking for a year about a way to pay tribute to Kobe.

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As the TMZ story illustrates, there are two different designs. The black and white Jordans feature solo shots of dad and daughter on each shoe, with their nicknames ‘Mamba’ and ‘Mambacita’.

The ‘Lakers purple’ version has shots of Kobe and Gigi together on each shoe, one image is from Kobe celebrating the 2009 championship with his daughter, and the other was from 2019 when they appeared together at a Lakers game.

Vladdy plans to give one pair to Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s widow, after the series, according to TMZ.

Guerrero Jr. was five years old when his dad joined the Angels in 2004, and for five years as a young kid in Los Angeles, he naturally grew to be a big basketball fan, and, by extension, a Lakers fan. The Guerreros were still in LA when Kobe and the Lakers won the NBA Championship in 2009. Vladdy was 10 years old.

In a feature story on the younger Guerrero from 2019, The Ringer noted that he “grew up loving Kobe Bryant.” Now, Vlad Jr. is sharing that love for all to see; the shoes even include an inscription of the Beyonce lyric, “Your love is bright as ever”.

The Blue Jays kick off a four-game set in Anaheim against the Angels with a double-header on Tuesday.