Kobe

The Nike Kobe is the signature line of Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players of all time. His shoes broke with the idea that a basketball shoe had to be high: the low Kobe models in particular are now sought after by players on court and by collectors. On WOOVIN the focus is on the Protro versions, reissues with today’s technology.

Kobe Bryant and Nike

Kobe Bryant played twenty seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers and won five NBA titles. In 2003 he signed with Nike, where he worked on his own line with designer Eric Avar. Bryant was known for his ‘Mamba Mentality’: an obsessive focus on detail that you can see in the design of his shoes. In January 2020 he died in a helicopter crash, together with his daughter Gianna and seven others. Nike has continued the line since then in partnership with his family.

Design: low, light and close to the ground

A turning point was the Kobe 4 from 2008. Bryant asked for the lowest and lightest basketball shoe Nike could make, taking football boots as his example. The result was a low-cut shoe with little weight and responsive cushioning, a design that many other signature lines later followed. Later models went further with texture and material, such as the scale-like upper of the Kobe 6 and the Engineered Mesh of the Kobe 9 EM.

Protro stands for ‘performance retro’: the silhouette stays as it was, but the cushioning and materials are updated for today’s game. On WOOVIN you will find the Kobe 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11 Protro.

Popular Nike Kobe colorways

These Kobe Protros top the list on WOOVIN:

• Kobe 5 Protro ‘Dodgers’: blue with grey and a red accent, a nod to the Los Angeles baseball team.
• Kobe 6 Protro ‘ASG Hollywood 3D’: dark grey with blue and red details, released around the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend.
• Kobe 8 Protro ‘What The’: a deliberately mismatched pair full of colours from earlier Kobe 8 versions.
• Kobe 9 EM Low Protro ‘TB Wolf Grey’: calm grey with white, a team version.
• Kobe 9 EM Low Protro ‘China’: red with metallic gold and black.

How does the Nike Kobe fit?

Kobe Protros usually fit true to size in length, but they are narrow and lock the foot in tightly, as a performance shoe should. If you have wide feet, or mainly want to wear them casually, go half a size up. If you actually play basketball in them and have narrow feet, your own size is usually the best choice.

Buy the Nike Kobe at WOOVIN

On WOOVIN you will mainly find Kobe Protros in low-cut versions, from team colours to special All-Star and anniversary editions. Pay attention to the version number when choosing: the Kobe 4, 5 and 6 are compact and low, while the Kobe 9 Elite is a high-top. If you would rather wear another basketball legend, also take a look at Air Jordan or the Nike LeBron.