For the last 15 years, all of us have reached deep within our bag of superlatives, eventually tearing the seams at the bottom trying to describe the never-ending series of masterpieces painted by Kobe Bryant on that 94 x 50 canvas, otherwise known as a basketball court. There is an intimidating, boundless amount of text we can read about the Mamba and even a bevy of songs that reference the five-time NBA champion, but neither discipline can engage our ever so crucial visual sense like that of artwork. Seeing is believing and exploring the endless interpretations of Kobe through the eyes of an artist never fails to catch our eyes.
Lakers Nation had the opportunity to sit down with Tracy Tubera, Creative/Art Director for Rob Dyrdek’s Wild Grinders, a skateboarding toy line that will soon ollie its way into the world of animated series as well. While Tracy puts in long hours and a tremendous amount designing the world of Wild Grinders, he has and will always be a full-time artist and of course, die-hard Laker fan.
Combining his passion for art, sports and sneakers, Tracy recently created a sick set of illustrations that focus on our very own MVP, Kobe and his newest signature shoe, the Nike Zoom Kobe VI. As you know, Lakers Nation can’t let anything that has to do with the Mamba fly under the radar so we had to go chat with Tracy who was gracious enough to give us the inside scoop.
NEXT: Inspiration Manifested