With Mamba Day 2024 behind us, Kobe fans have another milestone to look forward to as Nike continues to honor the legacy of the Black Mamba through Protro releases. Next up is May 1st, or the birthday of Gigi Bryant — Kobe’s daughter who sadly died in the tragic helicopter crash on January 26th, 2020.

Continuing the “Mambacita” tradition, in which Nike and Vanessa Bryant concoct an elegant white, gold, and black colorway of a Kobe shoe, this Kobe 8 “Mambacita” features an elegant pattern of butterflies on the engineered mesh upper, while golden accents appear on the Kobe sheath and the embroidered Swoosh emblems on both the lateral and medial sides. On the heel is “Gigi” along with her number 2 jersey number, while a hard golden hang-tag comes attached featuring the Mambacita wings logo.

Looking ahead, the next Kobe release is expected on Father’s Day with the release of the green suede Nike Kobe 4 Protro “Girl Dad”, which is said to be inspired by the green Philadelphia Eagles beanie Kobe wore in that heartwarming photo of dad and daughter sitting courtside.

HOW AND WHERE TO BUY THE KOBE 8 “MAMBACITA”

The Nike Kobe 8 Protro “Mambacita” is confirmed to release on SNKRS on May 1st, 2024 via Draw at 11am ET. Sizing availability ranges from M3.5/W5 through M18/W19.5. The shoes will also be available at select Nike retail partners; see the Where To Buy list just ahead.

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF “MAMBACITA” SNEAKER RELEASES

Nike and the Kobe Bryant estate began the “Mambacita” journey in 2022 with the release of the Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Mambacita”. The shoes dropped on May 1st on Gigi Bryant’s 16th birthday. Nike followed that up in 2023 with the Kobe 4 Protro “Mambacita” featuring a white leather upper with black/gold accents. With the Kobe 8 Protro “Mambacita” also releasing on May 1st, we can conclude that Nike will be releasing a special sneaker on May 1st every year to commemorate Gigi’s birthday.

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