Nike’s iconic black mamba brand, long associated with the late Kobe Bryant, was originally created for Michael Jordan before the basketball legend’s fear of snakes killed the campaign, according to an ESPN report.
Nike executive Gentry Humphrey developed the concept in late 2002 after examining a space-age industrial material called Tech Flex at the company’s Oregon headquarters. Staffers noticed the tubelike material resembled snakeskin, prompting Humphrey to search online for the most formidable black snake available where he found the black mamba.
Humphrey built a full marketing campaign around the snake and the Air Jordan 19, which was also notable as the first laceless performance basketball shoe. Jordan initially appeared receptive but rejected the campaign after seeing a formal presentation on Nike’s campus in late 2003.
Jordan Brand marketing director Jackie Thomas delivered the presentation and received no indication of concern from Jordan during the meeting. The following day, Jordan Brand president Larry Miller delivered the verdict.
“MJ doesn’t like snakes,” Miller told her.
Jordan’s phobia had been one of his most closely held secrets. Author Mark Vancil, who collaborated with Jordan in the early 1990s, later said Jordan would change the television channel if a snake appeared on screen.
After repeated phone calls, Thomas reached Jordan on a Sunday and negotiated a limited compromise. A two-page black mamba Air Jordan 19 advertisement ran in ESPN The Magazine on March 14, 2004. Subsequent marketing dropped the snake entirely.
Bryant, who signed with Nike in June 2003, independently adopted the black mamba identity after watching a snake scene in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill Vol. 2” past 2 a.m. one night. He later told the Washington Post the description matched his own personality and playing style exactly.
Multiple sources told ESPN that Bryant had no knowledge of Jordan’s earlier black mamba campaign. Nike’s strict internal separation between Jordan Brand and the broader company kept the original effort buried.
Bryant’s black mamba persona grew into a multibillion-dollar brand. Nike designated 2025 the Year of the Mamba in his honor. The original Air Jordan 19 black mamba advertisement remains in the company’s archives on the Oregon campus.