Aaron Hope 
Blame it on whatever curse was on NBA/USA Basketball in 2004, that earlier USAB squads had made it too easy or any other reasoning, but there was a clear departure in the mid-’00s with top-tier professionals choosing to skip out on the Olympic experience. A young LeBron James suffered through that embarrassing Athens appearance and helped to rejuvenate interest in the ’08 squad, but it was Kobe Bryant’s dogged determination that galvanized the Redeem Team. Kobe put off surgery to repair the torn ligament in his shooting pinky to make sure he was ready for Beijing, and now a few years later, we’re on the verge of the Black Mamba claiming his second Olympic gold.
The ‘Gold Medal’ Nike Zoom Kobe VII System envisions a London result in line with what Bryant and his Team USA cohorts have been visualizing, and with a release date coming up around the time of the August 12th finale, we’ve got new photos to share after the jump below. Let us know how they compare to the Hyperdunks and Zoom KD IVs in similarly celebratory styles and stick with Sneaker News for the US release date. Photos: Kinetics
Nike Zoom Kobe VII System
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