The Los Angeles Clippers might be hosting NBA All-Star Weekend with most of the events taking place at the Intuit Dome, but the city of Los Angeles will always be a town dedicated to the Los Angeles Lakers. And nobody represents that more than the iconic Kobe Bryant.
Even though it has now been more than six years since his tragic passing, the legend of Kobe continues to live strong throughout L.A. with many murals dedicated to him around the city, not to mention the multiple statues in front of Crypto.com Arena. And All-Star Weekend has always been something special to Bryant as well, and with it now upon us, Nike has channeled the Lakers legend for their latest ad.
With All-Star Weekend set to get underway, Nike released a new commercial honoring Bryant, via House of Heat:
“Welcome to the City of Champions” 🐍@nikebasketball honors Kobe in the brand’s latest campaign pic.twitter.com/U55WrczKmt
— House of Heat° (@houseofheat) February 13, 2026
The ad is a short but powerful one featuring the top of SoFi Stadium being illuminated with the famous picture of Kobe holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy after the Lakers won the 2001 NBA Championship. That is followed by a famous Bryant quote: “You get out of L.A. what you put into it” which then turns into the Mamba logo all while fans chant “Kobe” in the background.
Nike releasing this at this time makes sense as Kobe is synonymous with the All-Star Game. As the league struggles to figure out how to make the game more competitive and get players to care about it more, Kobe was someone who always pushed for players to compete hard during the contest. The league even named the All-Star Game MVP award after him and his 18 All-Star Game appearances trail only fellow Laker legends LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
This year’s contest will feature a USA vs. the World format for the first time with James and Luka Doncic representing the Lakers. But no matter what the format is, if the players are pushing each other and truly competing, Kobe will be smiling.
Lakers release “Iconic Los Angeles” short film ahead of All-Star Weekend
The Lakers themselves have also put together something ahead of NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, releasing a short film entitled “Iconic Los Angeles” highlighting the connection between the franchise and the city of L.A.
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