Special feature

Main attraction A look at the highs and lows of Lakers guard Kobe Bryant's career. NBCSports.com

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updated 8:56 p.m. ET Dec. 19, 2008

MIAMI - The high-flying Kobe Bryant will now ply his trade in low-cuts.

Bryant unveiled his latest Nike signature shoe Friday night — a low-cut sneaker the league’s reigning MVP donned in a game for the first time when his Los Angeles Lakers visited the Miami Heat. At 11.6 ounces, Nike says it’s the lightest basketball shoe it has created, and Bryant is convinced the switch makes the most sense for his game.

“It feels great, feels great,” Bryant said. “I’m excited about it.”

Many NBA players now use braces on their ankles to prevent sprains, and virtually the entire league plays in mid-cut or high-top shoes. But Bryant is sticking with plain old athletic tape for ankle support, and says that’s enough.

“High-tops really don’t do much for you,” Bryant said Friday. “If you’re going to roll your ankle, you’re going to roll it. It kind of is what it is. If you come down on somebody’s foot, nothing you can do really about that. I wanted to have more mobility in the ankle, more movement at the foot and a lighter weight shoe, and I got it.”

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has no qualms about Bryant’s decision, which is understandable.

After all, he played in low-cuts.

“The only thing about low-cuts, I think some people started saying low-cuts are a detriment to the game because if you get stepped on on the heel, they can come off on the floor,” Jackson said. “But I wore low-cuts, taped. A ton of players had low-cuts and taped their ankles. It doesn’t really matter.”

Some Heat players raised their eyebrows when told of Bryant’s switch, with a few saying they wouldn’t feel comfortable without the extra protection that a high-top shoe might provide.

Miami forward Shawn Marion, though, said he wore low-tops in high school. He no longer does in games, but said there’s some advantages to the lighter shoe.

“Low-cut shoes, they support an ankle more than high-tops,” Marion said. “You’ve got all that high-top coming over the ankle, but you’ve got more stability to move around a little more quickly in low-tops.”

Bryant was directly involved in the design of the shoe, which will be available in stores in February.

He said he didn’t consult any other players who have worn low-cuts, either now or in the past, about the specifications of the sneaker, which he said has special technology to keep a player’s heel in place — something that was among his most important requests, he said.

“It’s more about what I needed as an athlete, me, myself,” Bryant said. “When I play, how do I feel when I wear the shoe? When I wear high-tops, how did I feel? What would I like to see improve in the shoes? What would I like to see perform better? From that, in our meetings, I would just throw all this stuff to them and they would come back with the technology necessary."

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Nathan Denette / AP

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