Category: Kobe Bryant

PE Corner: IT rocks Suns-inspired Kobe VIII Protro

Brandon King

In a late season game recent and long overdue NBA signee Isaiah Thomas took the court in this Phoenix Suns-based colorway. It sports various shades and tones of purple throughout its engineered mesh upper. Orange appears at the Swooshes on the lateral and medial sides, Kobe logo on the tongue and rear heel, the Kobe signature on the external heel counter and the inner. Below resides a grey midsole and matching rubber outsole.  As with most of the kicks highlighted in PE Corner, there are no indications of a planned…

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”Masterpiece” Kobe IX Protro coming back in 2025

Brandon King

Good news for Kobe fans, and unfortunately the death profiteers as well.  The “Masterpiece” Kobe IX Elite is making its return in 2025 in Protro form.  Although there are no images of the 2025 version, but what we should see is a black and multi-color knit upper with reflective Swooshes on the medial and lateral sides. Volt can be seen on the tongue, below a red Kobe signature . In the top of the rear heel reads “KB” and “NINTH”; below this is 9 horizontal marks which both allude to…

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Take in the “EYBL” Nike Kobe VIII Protro

Brandon King

Every year since inception in 2010, the Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) ,aka the brings together some of the top AAU travel clubs in the nation as well as a Canadian team. The Peach Jam serves as the EYBL finals and is played at the One of the perks of participating in this elite competition is the is tournament-specific footwear.  One of pieces will be the Kobe VIII Protro.  It sports a fuschia engineered mesh upper with with a large, embroidered white Swoosh on the lateral side, with smaller similarly applied…

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PE Corner: Natalia Bryant wore these Kobe VI PEs when she threw the first pitch at Dodgers Stadium

Brandon King

On the Dodgers’ annual “Lakers Night” on September 1, 2023, Natalia Bryant, the eldest daughter of the late, great Kobe Bryant, threw out the first pitch , just as her father did at a game in 2000. As Natalia threw out the ceremonial first pitch, on her feet were a Dodgers-inspired PE of the Kobe VI.  It features a blue scaled upper adorned on the lateral and medial sides with white Swooshes, on the lateral heels Kobe’s first number “8” can be seen in red. The tongue is home to…

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“Wolf Grey” Kobe VIII Protro coming this fall

Brandon King

This upcoming Kobe VIII Protro sports a grey engiineered mesh upper with a larger white embroidered Swoosho n the lateral side and a smaler one on the medial ankle. White also shows up on the Kobe logos on the rear heel, atop the grey tongue and on the Kobe logo on the external heel counter. Underneath resides a grey midsole and white rubber outsole. The “Wolf Grey” Nike Kobe VIII Protro is planned to debut this fall at nike.com and select retail establishments. They will carry 190 USD. Nike Kobe…

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PE Corner: Tyrese Halliburton’s Kobe V Protro

Brandon King

title image via nbakicks Tyres Haliburton took these striking Kobe V Protro PEs to the court in a recent Pacers game.  As can be seen they sport a grey synthetic upper tipped in yellow at the toe. Black Swooshes adorn the lateral and medial sides, with yellow showing up at the tongue as well as the exteranl heel cup. Light blue shows up at the inner, completing an upper that sits atop a yellow and white midsole as well as a translucent rubber outsole.  Although there is no doubt these…

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”College Navy” Nike Kobe VIII Protro

Brandon King

This upcoming Kobe VIII Protro sports a navy engineered mesh upper with a large embroidered Swoosh on the lateral side and a smaller one on the medial ankle. White also is present in the on the Kobe logos on the rear wheel and tongue as well as the signature on the external heel counter.  Underneath the aforementioned upper resides a college navy midsole and white rubber outsole.  The “College Navy” Kobe VIII Protro is planned to debut this fall at nike.com and select retail venues; they will carry a 190…

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DeMar DeRozan wore three Kobe VI Protro PEs

Brandon King

DeMar DeRozan has plied his craft on college and professional hardwoods largely in Kobe Bryant footwear ( save an infamous time in the Air Jordan X). Following the untimely death of the husband, father and basketball legend, his daughter and 7 others in a tragic helicopter crash in January 2020, Kobes quick became the most worn shoes in the Association. However for DeRozan, wearing Kobes was business as usual; Nike seemed to recognize this as the new deal the Bulls’ star forward signed an extension with the brand that kept…

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”Black/University” Nike Kobe VIII Protro coming this fall

Brandon King

Nike continues in their ongoing mission to line the pockets with Kobe releases that fans of the man or his sneakers will invariably get the shafted out of. With iits black engineers mesh upper and gold lateral branding, this upcoming iteration of the Kobe VIII Protro is visually reminiscent of the “Del Sol” Kobe VI. Metallic gold also appears on the embroidered Swoosh on the medial side side and the Kobe signature on the external heel counter. Court purple shows up on the Kobe logo on the rear heel, completing…

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