Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward has been honoring Kobe Bryant in recent games with a special pair of his signature sneakers.
As noted by ESPN's Nick DePaula, the custom Anta GH2 sneakers feature Bryant's No. 24 and the final two lines from a message he wrote on Instagram after Hayward suffered a leg injury in 2017.
Gordon Hayward has been playing in a snakeskin GH2 honoring Kobe Bryant, with 24 on the heel & “Remember” across the midfoot.
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) February 1, 2021
The laces include the last two sentences from Kobe’s Instagram post encouraging Gordon after his 2017 injury.
Hayward faced Kobe in his last NBA game. pic.twitter.com/SzHwzLvxd3
Hayward spoke about Bryant's message during a recent interview with Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports.
"It meant the world to me," Hayward said. "I think having Kobe do that was really special. And he texted me as well. It meant a lot to have somebody like him encourage me for the whole world to see, not just privately, like I said he did, but also publicly.
"Definitely read that multiple times in my recovery and in my journey back, and I feel like in those moments, you can get really isolated. So to have people reaching out like that, it meant a lot."
