Picture Credit: Twitter
A collection of unseen photos of late NBA legend Kobe Bryant was launched as a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on August 24. Notably, the day is celebrated as Kobe Bryant Day in Los Angeles where the basketball icon spent significant years of his life playing for the LA Lakers. The collection of pictures is called "Kobe" and consists of eight black and white photos of the star basketball player which date back to 1999.
Notably, NFTs are a digital representation of artwork, sports cards, or other collectibles tied to a blockchain, typically on ethereum. Moreover, each NFT has a signature that can be verified in the public ledger and hence cannot be duplicated or edited. Buying an NFT gives that person the rights to the unique token on the blockchain and not the artwork themselves.
The pictures are set to be released on NFT Platform Cryptograph. The pictures were clicked by David Factor of Smashbox Studios early on in his illustrious career when he has still not made his name as one of the greats. All proceeds from this arrangement will benefit the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds sports programs in underserved communities.
The foundation was renamed to honor Bryant and his daughter Gianna, the two of whom died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. While "Mambacita" was Gianna's nickname; Kobe was known as "The Black Mamba."
A dream come true photoshoot for David Factor
Factor, the photographer credited for these pictures, told the Insider that the photoshoot was "a dream come true." He added that it took place in an old meatpacking facility in downtown Los Angeles that did not have electricity.
"I think this shoot is special because it's one of his first fashion shoots," Factor said as quoted in the Business Insider India report.
"The purpose of this Kobe Bryant NFT drop, for me, is to raise as much money as humanly possible to give to Kobe Bryant's foundation," he added.
"He was able to detach the basketball Kobe and go into this part. And I kind of saw the creative side of him that was pretty amazing," he further said.