In honor of the birthday of the Los Angeles Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant, Nike has taken this week to release a plethora of the Nike Kobe V Protros. Kicking off with last Sunday’s release of the “Big Stage” V, Nike has been honoring the legacy of one of basketball’s greatest heroes for the entire week of what would have been his 42nd birthday.
Not only is Nike honoring the Black Mamba through new releases, they also announced they are donating $1 million dollars to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
Not only does Mamba Week celebrate the birth of Kobe Bryant but celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Lakers 2010 championship victory. The “Big Stage” Kobe V Protro is a fusion of both the Big Stage Home and Away colorways Kobe wore on the court during the 09-10 season. The tattoo-like details that show up on the silhouette’s lateral sides have been updated to reflect some of Kobe’s achievements during the seasons as well.
Nike follows up the Big Stage Kobe V Protro with the “5x Champ” Kobe V Protro which is an homage to the iconic jackets Kobe wore following the Lakers’ 2001 and 2002 Championship victories, most specifically the one from 2001 which it mirrors almost exactly. The Lakers colorway is also topped with a snakeskin texture as a nod to the Mamba himself.
Alongside the “5x Champ” Kobe V Protro, Nike is reviving the Black Mamba inspired City jerseys originally introduced in 2017 after Kobe’s retirement. The black snakeskin jersey features 8 on the front and 24 on the back–honoring the entirety of Kobe’s storied career.
The biggest draw may be Thursday’s Undefeated Kobe V collaborations. The Los Angeles-based sneaker boutique is no stranger to working with Kobe. After a collection centering on Kobe’s acolytes, Undefeated returns with the focus on Kobe himself. Undefeated’s “What if” collection features two separate pairs of shoes that highlight the teams that passed on Kobe during the 1996 draft while the white blue and gold pair are reference to Kobe’s original draft team, the Charlotte Hornets.
Mamba Week comes to a close on Saturday with the Nike 5 Protro “Girls EYBL” an ode to Kobe’s unflappable love for women’s basketball and to honor the memory of the Mambacita, Gigi Bryant. The “Girls EYBL” Kobe 5 Protro is inspired by Medusa of Greek mythology who bore the ability to turn her enemies into stone. The dark green shoe features gray along the eyelets and on the toe box, as well as the EYBL logo stamped on the tongue.
The Mamba lives forever.
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