Once a year, the NBA and the public vote on which NBA players stood out so far during the basketball season. They vote and decide which players make the All-Stars and compete during All-Star Weekend. This year All-Star Weekend was February 14th – February 16th. Some of the events that the players compete in are the Rising Stars challenge, the skills challenge, the 3-point contest, the slam dunk contest, and the All-Star Game. The Rising Stars challenge is for invited rookie NBA stars to perform all together in one game, and the All-Star game is for invited NBA players who have been in the league longer than two years.

Many well-known NBA players were invited to participate in the All-Star weekend. Some players seen on the court were Lebron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, James Harden and others.

Many sneakers were introduced during this past weekend. Lebron James’ introduced his new sneaker for his signature line, the “Lebron 17,” called the “Monstars.” The sneaker is in honor of Space Jam 2, which stars Lebron James. The original Space Jam’s main characters were Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny, where they compiled a team to compete against the Monstars.

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Kawhi Leonard introduced his new signature line with New Balance called the “OMN1s Inspire the Dream”. This is big news in the sneaker world because Kawhi Leonard has previously collaborated with Jordan Brand and Nike, but this is his first actual signature line. His previous shoe with Jordan Brand was the Jordan Retro 1 Mid “Pass the Torch.” These sneakers are sought by many sneaker collectors. It displays Kawhi Leonard’s logo on the tongue and 16 tally marks on the heel of the shoe, which signifies the 16 wins that the Spurs earned in the 2018 playoffs with Kawhi Leonard’s contribution.

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There were a lot of other sneaker coloways introduced from this past weekend from James Harden’s Adidas Vol. 4’s, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Freak 1’s, Paul George’s PG 4’s and more. One last sneaker I would like to highlight would be the new Nike Adapt BB 2.0 sneakers. These sneakers retail at $400 and are one of the first auto-lacing basketball sneakers designed for basketball performance. They indicate the “future of the game” as the shoes morph to your feet and ankles for optimal ankle and foot support. These sneakers come with a charging pad to charge the auto-lacing system.

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A few weeks ago, I posted a blog titled #girldad. I was hesitant in posting it because it’s a bit personal, but I went ahead and posted it anyway. I felt that if I didn’t post how I truly felt that I was being inauthentic for this blog.

I kept this blog post quiet until I read it in front of my class last Tuesday. I received such great feedback and I was surprised. I decided to post the story on social media and send it to many close friends and family. Once again, I was shocked at the response I received.

So many people have responded with personal stories of how they dealt with Kobe’s death, how my story impacted them or how they resonated with my story. I received messages from people I have only spoken to a few times and they gave me such words of encouragement. I have even had people tell me how I impacted their lives personally.

Here is an example of one of those messages:

“I read it, and it was amazing. You are someone I truly admire Alyssa. Your work ethic is unmatchable and you go through life struggles with such grace. You wrote that you hope to help others in similar situations one day and although our life/career situations are different, just know you have already helped and have made a difference in someone’s life. You have helped me by simply giving me advice or by just listening to me and my college rants where I doubt myself and my capabilities. You encourage me and no matter what I do end up doing in the future I hope to grow to be just as strong and capable as you are. It was a beautiful post!”- M.U.

I was honestly shocked that I had impacted this person’s life in this way. I personally have grown up as a lone wolf. I am usually focused on myself, my family and my career. I tend to try to talk to everyone I meet and learn as much as I can about them, but I usually never get very close with them. I truly enjoy hearing everyones stories and struggles they’ve been through. Everyone has a story to tell, and I think when we learn about each others stories it makes us connect on a deeper level. We are able to understand each other better because we know where they came from.

I didn’t realize that such a small interaction with a coworker about school could be so meaningful. Learning that has made me re-evaluate every interaction I have with someone and how I could leave an impact on them whether it be positive or negative.

A few other people responded sharing personal stories about how Kobe impacted their lives:

“That hashtag gets to me so much every time I see it. It’s crazy the impact he had on a global level. Kobe was a huge inspiration for me. He was seriously my life, I loved him.” -M.M.

“Kobe was a big thing for my family, they are part of the basketball community because of my little brother, and they all knew [Kobe] was a committed dad. My dad was devastated. He was a huge fan of Kobe and my little brother looked up to him. When my dad heard that the daughter was in the crash he was shocked and turned white as a ghost. I was shocked to see my dads reaction. I didn’t know it was so deep. It’s like you learn something about yourself or others.” -C.B.

I have been in the process of reading Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion by Pete Carroll. I am about halfway done and I resonate with just about everything he has to say.

I resonate with the fact that he has the “win forever” mentality. He states in the book that “the first step to doing great things was affirming the belief that great things are possible.” He also believes that anything is possible if you clear your mind and visualize it.

After reading much of this book over the last few days, I was inspired to look for athletes that have similar mentalities. Luckily, I found an athlete that shares similar ideas to the ones stated in this book and he uses sneakers to continue inspiring people with his mentality.

Russell Westbrook is one of basketball’s most intense players and known for his saying “why not.” Westbrook grew up in the inner city of Los Angeles and came up with the phrase with his friends in the eighth grade. In a video on @jumpan23 on Instagram, Westbrook says the phrase “illustrates the blocking out the naysayers, the haters and the nonbelievers.” Coming out of high school, Westbrook wasn’t a highly recruited player but he kept asking himself “why not? Why can’t I go to UCLA, be an all-defensive player, and then go to the NBA?” He never let anyone tell him he couldn’t do something. He says he remembers being told he would never make it to the NBA. Westbrook is now a nine-time NBA All-Star and has averaged a triple-double for multiple years.

He has partnered with Nike to create his own collection of shoes, and all of them have “why not” in the title. The shoes come in sizes for men, teens, kids and infants. Westbrook also started his own foundation, “Why Not Foundation.” The organization sets out to “inspire children that they can do inspire the lives of children, empower them to ask ‘Why Not?’ and teach them to never give up.” I love that he sends this message to kids and even offers the shoes in multiple sizes including kids sizing. Every kid wants to have those sneakers from their sport idols or they want to have a matching pair of sneakers with their parents. I think a lot of times kids get left out in the sneaker world, and I respect that Westbrook made sure to include them.

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It has been four days since the deaths of nine people, including Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, in a helicopter accident. It’s only been four days, but it’s felt more like months.

I’m still surprised at how these deaths have affected so many people, including myself. As I have stated before, I have never been a huge fan of Kobe but I have always respected him as a human being, a player and a father. And I think that last one is what gets to me most.

Since Sunday I have seen hundreds of social media posts of females and their dads with the hashtag #girldad. And truthfully every time I see these posts its like throwing salt in a gaping and raw wound.

I haven’t really had a great relationship with my father ever. Our relationship has basically been nonexistent for the last two or three years. We haven’t spoken since I started my graduate program in Specialized Journalism and sports at USC. As a girl interested in pursuing a career in sports, this is the time I would want to share my experiences with my dad even more and I can’t — because he doesn’t care. Every post I see on social media shows a dad proud of his daughter and engaging in her life. Most of these girls are in sports and that is every girl dad’s dream — for his daughter to play a sport and be interested in sports.

So even though I’m not a die-hard 24 fan, every time I see a post or report about him I find myself crying. Crying for the dad and daughter relationship that I’ll never have. Crying for the amazing dad who doesn’t get to watch his other daughters grow up. Crying for those precious girls who will have to continue life without a dad.

But we all experience different things in life for a reason. We all have different lives to walk and different shoes to fill. The worn and broken sneakers I’m walking in today are preparing me for something in the future. I hope that I can one day use my experiences to help others in similar situations. Until then, I’ll keep those broken sneakers because no matter how much they hurt they are a big part of my life.

Tonight, the men’s basketball team at the University of Southern California have written on their “Kobe” sneakers to honor Kobe and Gianna. The team honored two people who had an amazing dad and daughter relationship that everyone could hope for.

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I grew up mainly interested in baseball and football. My family never really watched basketball, and I most certainly did not play the sport (except for the one time I joined an intramural team in undergrad). But the one player I have always kept tabs on is Kobe Bryant.

I don’t know his career stats by heart, but I know that Kobe Bryant was a great player and human being. The relationship he seem to have built with his daughter has made me respect him even more. The loss of Kobe and his daughter Gianna is heartbreaking.

Today, I saw how the loss impacted people in my local community. I think today is one of those days that I will always remember. I was at my job today and my manager comes in after his break and tells us the news. At first no one believes him, but eventually everyone realized it was true. The entire work environment shifted instantly. Many of my coworkers began crying or became extremely quiet for the rest of our shift. As I greeted and spoke with customers, many of them asked me if I had heard the news. One customer was still in shock and they couldn’t even order coherently.

But what I wanted to talk about is Kobe’s legacy in the sneaker world. Kobe originally started his sneaker line through Adidas, then of course made the switch to Nike. He is one of the biggest faces of Nike athletics, and will remain one of the biggest Nike legends. Typically seen in every materialistic industry (especially in art), after the artist dies their pieces become more valuable. This circumstance also applies to the sneaker industry. Within hours of the confirmation of Kobe’s passing, his sneakers have skyrocketed in second market prices. Sneakers that were hitting the outlets on sale for $40 are suddenly reselling for more than $500. An example of this would be the Jordan Retro 9 “Kobe Bryant PE”. Though this is technically a Michael Jordan sneaker, the sneaker was made in honor of Kobe Bryant in 2016. Another sneaker I would like to point out is the Kobe XI “Mamba Day”. Once the shoe released, people were standing in lines at their local Foot Lockers in attempt to purchase the sneaker for retail price at $200, and resell the sneaker for $1,000. After the first day, the resell value plummeted to about $450. Today, the sneakers are listed for second market pricing at $5,000.

I have two thoughts on this matter. The first is that it makes me sad that people are making a significant amount of money on this tragedy. Some of my friends in the sneaker world are upset that they sold some of their Kobe shoes in 2019 for a lot less, when they could have sold them now for a lot more money. It breaks my heart that people instantly become greedy and are able to make money on such a tragic event. But the second thought I have is that the people who do have Kobe’s shoes now have an extremely valuable memory. They have shoes that have such an amazing legacy attached to them. After today, it made me realize how things and people can be lost in a moment and how precious time is. It’s a reminder to be thankful for every day I have in this world and thankful for every day I have with my loved ones.

How I became interested in the sneaker world.

This is my first blog and I am not sure exactly where this blog will go from here. I wanted to attempt to talk about something a little outside of my comfort zone, so I thought I would talk about sneakers. Each week I will talk about what is trending in the sneaker world, releases I like, and athletes and their sneakers.

This is a little outside my comfort zone because I have really only been around the sneaker world for the past four or five years. I was first introduced into sneakers in 2016 when I met Jacques Slade (also known as @Kustoo on Instagram). I met him at a sports broadcasting bootcamp with the Los Angeles Rams. Slade was the videographer for the bootcamp and he was kind enough to answer all my camera and editing questions. I asked him how he became good with his camera and editing and he said he would film things like his home or shoes. Not long after I met him, his YouTube and Instagram accounts blew up. He started receiving exclusive shoes from every big shoe name out there like Adidas, Nike and more. I have followed him since and really learned about the sneaker world from him.

After that, I also began meeting people that called themselves “sneakerheads.” I’ve developed friendships and relationships with people that were extremely interested in sneakers. For a long time, I thought the sneaker world was crazy because of how expensive they can be and the intense designs. But over the past few years, I have come to like the sneaker world and even respect it.

What I’ve loved the most about sneakers is the stories behind them. I am all for freedom of expression and stories, and I love that every pair of sneakers is someone expressing themselves and telling a story. Most sneakers, especially retro related sneakers, also come with history and I find it fascinating to learn about the origin, history, and reasoning behind the construction of these sneakers.

The first pair of expensive sneakers I have ever owned are called the Jordan 3 Retro “Black Cement.” They are the ones pictured at the top of this blog. When I got them, I had no clue how I was going to wear them or the story behind them. I came to find out that the shoes are so popular that they have been released six times in 30 years. They have been released in 1988, 1994, 2001, 2008, 2011 and finally in 2018. I have the 2018 release which features the “Nike Air” logo on the heel which hasn’t been seen since 2001. These shoes were also release on Michael Jordan’s 55th birthday in 2018.

These shoes mean a lot to me because they are my first ever pair of “real” sneakers. They were also a gift to me for my birthday. Like I said, I love the stories behind shoes and I love that I get to add some really cool stories by wearing them.

I don’t know where I will go from here, but I am excited to keep blogging about this topic.