Shortly after his passing, Kobe Bryant was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along with Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. In celebration of this memorable event, Nike has partnered up with Undefeated to release yet another Kobe 5 Protro. During Mamba Week this year, the two brands released five different iterations of the Kobe 5 reflecting the legend’s greatest achievements.
The “Hall of Fame” UNDEFEATED x Nike Kobe 5 Protro makes use of a textured upper in gold, partnered with a mesh toe box and side panel. As a nod to Kobe’s alter ego Black Mamba, the sneaker incorporates scaly overlays throughout the upper. Completing the overall design are red and purple swooshes, along with purple soles and inner lining.
Referencing Kobe’s jersey numbers for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Men’s USA Basketball Team—24, 10, and 8—can be found incorporated within the outer Swoosh. Adding more detail, the sneaker’s insoles list Kobe’s accomplishments from his decorated basketball career.
Rounding it all up, both the sneaker’s tongue and heel don the iconic Mamba logo and UNDEFEATED’s five strike insignia. While this sneaker has not yet been released, we can see parallels to the sneaker’s colorway from past Nike pairs. The Nike Zoom KD IV “Gold Medal” offers a strikingly similar design to this upcoming “Hall of Fame” sneaker, suggesting Nike is reusing past color-blocking for future projects.
The “Hall of Fame” UNDEFEATED x Nike Kobe 5 Protro is priced at $190 (Php 9.3k) with no specified release date. Although, the pair is expected to release by the end of 2020, just before Kobe’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which will be happening next spring.
What are your thoughts on this sneaker? Let us know in the comments below! To check out more colorways of the Kobe 5 Protro check out this article on two different PE pairs, or this article on the Bruce Lee Kobe 5 Protro Colorways.
