Out of the Los Angeles Lakers ' 17 championships, five were won from 2000 to 2010. And during those 10 years, one man was responsible for all of them. His name is Kobe Bryant . During the 2000s, he was the face of the league and the most unstoppable offensive force in the entire NBA. Next, his influence in the NBA grew more when he launched his own signature shoe.
Eventually, they became extremely popular, and everyone wanted them, including Taj Gibson and his college teammates. During one of their games in the then-Staples Center, they were in the Lakers locker room. Since they were college kids at the time, they were really curious to see what those players had. And they found a lot.
During his college days, Taj Gibson played three seasons for the University of Southern California, from 2006 to 2009. During that period, Bryant won the scoring title, an MVP and a Finals MVP. Following those individual successes, the Kobe 3s and 4s were released. Therefore, before the game, Kobe's locker was by far the most interesting one that they wanted to find.
" We were in the Laker locker room. As a young hooper, you go in the Laker locker room, you're just lookin', like, 'Where's Kobe's locker?' And I remember, Kobe's just dropped," said Gibson.
As Taj described, the whole team took the search for Kobe's stuff and the shoes very seriously. One of Gibson's teammates found a solution just below the locker. They had small vents that opened when pressed. But finding anyone's locker beside Bryant's seemed pointless. And when one teammate got to his locker, the whole team erupted.
" One by one, guys digging in the vents. 'I don't see Kobe. I don't see. This not Kobe' One guy pops one vent open. He said, 'Oh my God. It's Bean!' And then everybody went crazy," explained Gibson.
It is hard to put into perspective what seeing fresh Kobe's really meant. And since they were in front of them, it was hard not to take them, considering everyone on the Lakers roster had enough shoes. Still, even superstars realize when most of their stuff is gone. As Taj remembers, most of the gear and the shoes went missing from their locker room. And the whole team was ready to wear the shoes. Until their strength coach arrived.
" We didn't even get no more than a week later. Coach Rudy Hackett. So he got the phone call. He comes in the locker room. 'Alright, alright, alright. They don't wanna know anything. Just give me all the shoes and I won't say nothing. I'ma turn around. I'ma come back in 5 minutes,' " said Gibson, " I turn around. There's like at least 20 pairs of kicks on the floor. I'm, like, damn, we robbed them."
After doing something like that, it is reasonable to expect punishment. Instead, Bryant took care of the whole team by providing his own signature shoe. And they were in the colors of USC. It almost seems like Kobe was happy they wanted to steal his shoes. And he reminded Gibson about it every time they played.
" Even after all that stuff we went through. Every time he came to Chicago my first couple of years in the NBA. He was like, 'I know I had to take care of y'all man. I know y'all wanted some shoes,' " addressed Gibson.
Besides his greatness on the court, Kobe was also a hell of a person off the court. This gesture is just one of many examples. And for Gibson, this story is so remarkable that, out of all his encounters with Kobe during his career, he chose the one from his college days.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
