Nike Kobe 5 Protro

The Kobe 5 Protro is a basketball sneaker designed by Nike for former basketball legend Kobe Bryant. It first debuted towards the tail end of the of 2019 in Asia, and at the beginning of 2020 with the revival of the “Chaos” colorway that’s inspired by Bryant’s admiration for Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker in Batman, The Dark Knight.

Constructionally, it is formed to the exact low-profile shape as the original Zoom Kobe 5 that first released in 2009, and traditionally comes built with synthetic uppers that are held together by Nike’s Flywire technology, snake-like overlays that run down its throat, and a plastic heel counter. Branding is typically present atop the side walls which host its Swooshes, the Mamba logo atop the tongues, and Kobe’s hand-written signature at the rear.

Nike Basketball had plans to release multiple colorways of the Kobe 5 Protro throughout the year 2020, but because of the unexpected passing of the Lakers Hall of Famer towards the end of January, their plans were understandably put on hold. However, the folks over at the Swoosh recently announced their plans to celebrate the life of Bryant through “Mamba Week” at the end of August 2020, especially since August 24th was officially approved to be “Kobe Bryant Day” by Orange County.

Several upcoming colorways have been confirmed to release within the latter half of this year including the “Big Stage”, “Lakers”, “Girls EYBL”, and UNDEFEATED collabs. Moreover, a Bruce Lee Kobe 5 Protro capsule is also expected to drop.