Kobe Bryant has been removed from pro basketball for a few years now, but his sneakers with Nike are still going strong.
With next week’s NBA All-Star Weekend festivities in Charlotte, N.C., the home of the team that drafted Bryant in 1996, Nike intends to celebrate by bringing back one of his most popular signature styles.
When it came time to designing the baller’s fourth signature sneaker in 2009, Nike said he raised an important question to the brand’s VP and creative director of innovation, Eric Avar: “Why did the world’s top football strikers wear low-cut shoes while basketball players — participating in an equally dynamic sport — still believed that high-tops were best?”
The lowest-cut and lightest-weight basketball shoe the brand could possibly make, the Zoom Kobe 4 tackled all of Bryant’s demands head-on by weighing in at 11.6 ounces while incorporating a new low design. For 2019, the revolutionary model will make its return featuring updates known as the Protro version.
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The upcoming “Draft Day” colorway draws inspiration from the Charlotte Hornets color scheme with a white-based upper with blue and purple accents found on the Swoosh branding and laces. Additional details include Bryant’s draft day printed on the heel tab and insole. The updated performance features will include a sleeker heel shape and wider outsole traction.
The Nike Zoom Kobe 4 Protro “Draft Day” will release on the SNKRS app, Nike.com and at select Nike Basketball retailers on Feb. 15.
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