That feat would forever be immortalized in sneaker history when the following year Nike dropped a Player Exclusive white, black, and purple colorway that matched the design worn by Kobe that night.Ī full retail release wouldn’t happen until 2019, but thankfully, players and fans can finally own a pair that commemorates one of Kobe’s career-defining moments. In a 2006 game against the Toronto Raptors, Kobe rocked his first Nike branded sneaker, the Zoom Kobe 1, and scored a jaw-dropping 81 points in a single game. Let’s run through a few of the most essential Nike Kobe colorways and designs. Every Kobe signature sneaker with Nike attempted to be an improvement on the last in terms of function, and for all its efforts, Kobe’s signature Nikes may go down in history as some of the best basketball sneakers of all time, which is fitting, as they are attached to one of the greatest to ever step on the hardwood. Unlike the Air Jordans, which were really only worn by Jordan himself and a handful of players, Kobe’s sneakers took things like stability, movement, weight, cushioning, and energy return into mind as key aspects of each design. That has less to do with the way they look and more to do with the way they’re constructed. Year after year, Kobe’s sneakers are routinely the most worn sneakers in the NBA.

I’m not just talking about the people who play at the park every weekend, I’m talking about professional ballplayers. The people who strive to live with that Mamba mentality. That’s because Kobe’s signature silhouettes resonate with a different audience entirely: people who, like Kobe himself, live, love, and breathe for the game. If you gift any of your friends a random pair of Air Jordans for Christmas, there is a chance they’ll recognize them as a pair of Jordans, but hand an unsuspecting friend a Kobe Protro IV, and they’ll probably just think you got them a new pair of running shoes.ĭon’t get us wrong, a Kobe branded sneaker will still sell out instantly (or would sell out, as Nike’s contract with Kobe Bryant’s estate has expired), there just isn’t an endless line of celebrities or streetwear brands clamoring to redesign a Kobe VI the way there is a regular rotation of new colorways for the Jordan I, III, IV, V, and beyond week after week. Kobe Bryant’s signature Nike sneakers don’t seem to carry the same kind of cultural weight as the Air Jordan does outside of your average sneakerhead.

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