Kobe Bryant Takes Flight in Newest Wallpaper Series

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One of the most majestic sights in basketball, is when the player breaks away from the defense with a full court ahead of him, and takes flight in the acrobatic aerial art known as the fast break dunk.  In Kobe’s younger years, this moment happened almost every game. Whether it was a 360, or a windmill, or the signature Black Mamba slam, we always saw the special talent that Kobe had to display. How many of you can recall the moment when he dunked over Dwight Howard, or Ben Wallace, or Yao Ming, or demolished the rim leaving the announcer yelling about Kobe’s disregard for human life? What about that insane behind the back 360 dunk, or the famous dunk from the 81 point game? Kobe defined the dunk in his era, and along with players like Vince Carter, and Tracy Mcgrady he transformed for the new generation.

“When it’s played the way is ‘spozed’ to be played, basketball happens in the air; flying, floating, elevated above the floor, levitating the way oppressed peoples of this earth imagine themselves in their dreams.”  ~John Edgar Wideman

What I wanted to capture in this piece for the LakersNation.com, was the sheer power of the art form that is the game of basketball, when it is Kobe Bryant’s time to shine. The typography was something that I really took time to finish, because I felt like getting it right was key to making an effective visual presentation. I went with a very galactic space type style, with a grunge overtone, in other words,  something that could truly show the essence of the Black Mamba, from the moment he touches the ball, to the moment you see him leap into the air and perform visual acrobatics not seen since the days of a man named Jordan.  And we all know that Kobe still has some amazing acrobatics left in the tank. We saw it in the first round against the Hornets, and then again over the summer when he was dunking over Chinese children and doing 360 alley oops. Kobe still has some preposterous dunks left in him, and all we need to do is sit back and wait for the moment we know he is about to Take Flight.

Our new wallpaper features will be coming out every month with an new theme, and the fans will get to put in requests for the wallpaper they would like. The winner will get the wallpaper of their choice made by us as well as a special prize. All you have to do to participate in the LakersNation wallpaper design challenge is to follow @LakersNation and our designer @Source24 on twitter, and tweet both of them your wallpaper request and like LakersNation on Facebook. The winner will be announced every month as the wallpapers are released.

Steps:

1. Follow @LakersNation and @Source24 so we can DM you back.
2. Like LakersNation and Source24Designs on Facebook so we can message you back.
3. Either Tweet or Comment what your idea is.
4. Wait for the Monthly Announcement for who won!

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