On Nike’s 2023 fourth-quarter earnings call, John Danahoe, Nike CEO, announced plans to expand the Kobe signature line near August 24th, recognized as “Kobe Day.”
The announcement is massive news due to the current state of the Nike Kobe line. NBA superstars like Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, and Devin Booker are routinely hooping in Kobe Protros (performance retros), but fans have had a difficult time getting their hands on shoes.
We were all heartbroken when Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, and seven others passed away on January 26th, 2020, in a helicopter crash, and since then, his shoes’ value has skyrocketed. Nike hasn’t helped alleviate the issue as the Swoosh continued to produce small, limited runs of Kobe’s sneakers.
Kobe Bryant’s contract with Nike officially expired on April 13th, 2021, and it was up to Vanessa Bryant to renegotiate a new deal since she was in charge of the Bryant estate. Last year, Vanessa and Nike reached a new multi-year agreement, and in their brand new deal, Nike agreed to donate 100% of the proceeds from Gianna’s shoes to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
Speaking of Gianna Bryant, Nike has released two silhouettes in honor of Gigi so far– the Kobe 4 and Kobe 6 “Mambacita.”
This latest development surely means we can anticipate more Kobe silhouettes to come soon, as Vanessa Bryant wished. Before the year’s over, we expect to see the release of the Kobe 6 Protro “Reverse Grinch” and Kobe 8 Protro “Triple White.”
What Kobe silhouette would you want to see re-released?
