Kobe’s Draft Day “Charlotte To LA” Trade Inspires His Wear-Away Nike Dunk Low Protro

Hypothetical Hornet becomes Lakers legend.

Matt Varga June 12, 2026

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Nike is poised to step into new territory with the Kobe 4 “Draft Day,” embracing a blind box concept in reliving the thirteen franchises that passed up the opportunity to draft the Hall of Famer, and the one that let him go in a draft-day trade to Los Angeles. Of course, there’s a bit of myth-making in that story; the Mamba publicly acknowledged that he only had eyes on Los Angeles, yet it’s still enticing to live in the alternate universe where he didn’t don the purple and gold.

Beyond the intrigue of opening up a shoebox and not knowing what’s inside, each colorway of the Nike Kobe 4 Protro is functionally a two-in-one; the dozen-and-change pairs begin as united tone-on-white colorways before fading away to reveal full embraces of their respective team hues. Now, an accompanying release focuses on the two teams at the heart of the story. Official images have now loaded of the Nike Dunk Low Protro “Draft Day,” playing off some of the shared tonality between Charlotte’s and Los Angeles’ teams.

As depicted below, each pair begins as a Hornets-approved edition, with the laces, Swooshes, and heel tabs providing teal interplay to the shimmering purple top notes. With wear, that whittles down to gold, taking the wearer through the same cross-continent journey as Bryant’s draft rights. Snakeskin detailing is in heavy supply to keep that Mamba Mentality at the center; the overlays and liners both take on reptilian patterning.

The Nike Dunk Low Protro “Draft Day” is already loaded into SNKRS with a June 26th release and $160 retail price, aligning with the launch of the aforementioned Kobe 4. Catch official images below and watch our Sneaker Release Dates page for a store list as additional retailers join the party.

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WHERE TO BUY

Mens Nike Dunk Low "Draft Pack"

SKU: IM0586-500

RETAIL PRICE: $145

RELEASE DATE: Jun 26, 2026

US 06/26/2026 Friday

Retailer	Release type	Status
Nike SNKRS	Standard	Check Site
Sneaker Politics	Standard	Check Site
TAKOUT NY	Standard	Check Site

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Written by

Matt Varga, Junior Editor

Matt Varga is an Editor at SneakerNews. Initially earning a degree in Video Arts and Technology, he got his start in video editing and writing in the music world — primarily on hip-hop and electronic. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switching over to footwear. An avid collector, his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to either the Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe” and Air Jordan 5 “Laney,” his first ever pick-ups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, attending concerts and when weather permits, on the handball court.