Tyler Bey rocks Kobe ‘Reverse Grinch’ during PBA playoffs

Magnolia import Tyler Bey hangs on to the rim against Phoenix in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia’s Tyler Bey flashed his talents and athleticism on Wednesday to power Magnolia to a 1-0 lead over Phoenix in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Araneta Coliseum.

But those weren’t the only things he flashed in the spotlight.

Bey registered a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds and he did it all in the Nike Kobe 6 Protro’s in the “Reverse Grinch” colorway.

Were the Kobes the reason for the import’s dominant stat line? Maybe not entirely, but it did help the 6-foot-7 forward move freely around the court to get to the spots he wanted with ease.

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“They’re good. They’re great shoes, I feel like I can move easily in them. For me, I have a narrow foot, so I feel like they’re just perfect for my foot and they just fit perfectly fine,” said Bey with INQUIRER.net.

“For me, I feel like if you look good, you play good. That’s my thing so I might switch at halftime but it depends on how I’m feeling, really. That’s how it is.”

Bey wearing Kobes shouldn’t come as a surprise to the usual PBA spectator. After all, it’s almost what the former Dallas Maverick usually wears even at the beginning of the conference.

Magnolia import Tyler Bey. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

“I had Kobe 8s, the Halo’s, then I ended up wearing the Kobe 5’s, EYBL, so these are my third ones. I’m a fan of Kobe, obviously,” he said.

The Reverse Grinch is a different situation.

The Kobe 8s and 5s were considered as “grails” last year due to their popularity and scarcity in production. As time went by, sales for both models dropped in price, making it more accessible for the normal hooper to rock and wear.

Not the red colorway, though. The Reverse Grinch is booming in the sneaker market with a high resell price tag that can cost you from PHP30,000 to as much as PHP46,200 pesos (per StockX).

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So it wasn’t a surprise when Bey revealed that some of his teammates—Abu Tratter, in particular—said they adored the hooping sneakers.

“I got them from a friend who works in Nike… Abu, he got the same size as me but he didn’t get them yet, so he looks,” the import said in jest.

With him wearing Kobes, it was just right that Bey put on his best Kobe impersonation right before he walked back to the dugout to rest after the dub.

When he was asked if he and the Hotshots would breathe a little after drawing first blood in the semifinal series, Bey said, “Nah. We’re trying to go up 3-0 and get the rest. It’ll be great to take a few days off before the PBA Finals so we’ll keep pushing.”