Nike Kobes are back. Sure, we’re probably not going to ever get all the Kobe sneakers we really want—unless Nike decides to Air Jordan his whole line posthumously and do a full-on Kobe sub brand—but the faucet is on at the moment. Nike is dripping out retros and new colorways, allowing fans to participate in the best models of Kobe Bryant’s footwear legacy all over again. We’re happy about that (when we can actually buy them), but there’s still a lot more Nike Kobe heat in the vault. In celebration of Bryant’s birthday today, and in conjunction with this weekend’s Mamba Day remembrance, Complex staff picked a handful of Kobe sneakers we’d like to see get a second (or, in the case of player exclusives and super rare fare, first) chance at retail.
Nike Kobe 9 Elite Low ‘Beethoven’
Year: 2014
I was torn between these and the HTM collection, but for me personally, this was one Kobe I always wish I had in my collection. They’re not the most flashy or sought after from his signature line, but the Beethoven colorway and its Flyknit upper is still so clean to me, even 10 years later.
This pair was an ode to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony which lined up nicely with Kobe’s ninth shoe. Bryant’s appreciation for Beethoven has long been documented. In 2013, to express his love for his wife Vanessa, he taught himself the Moonlight Sonata without any sheet music or piano lessons. “Sitting down and taking lessons would be too easy, so I taught myself by ear,” Bryant said at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017. The Black Mamba was different and that story alone makes me want this pair even more. —Oruny Choi
Nike Kobe 7 ‘Dart Frog’
Year: 2012
I know a lot of people, if they could have a Kobe be retroed, would choose a limited-edition pair. Or maybe a player exclusive. But I wanted to pick something that people remember buying and wearing and makes them feel nostalgic. For me, it’s these “Dart Frog” Kobe 7s. I remember these coming out when I was working at Foot Locker. There were three colorways, but the mint “Dart Frog” one is the best. The color just looks cool to me, even if I’m not the biggest fan of the vinyl-y upper on the shoes. The shoes are black and mint, almost Tiffany Dunk-esque. And they have a frickin’ frog on the heel. —Matt Welty (in case you couldn’t tell from the use of “frick’n”)
Stash x Nike Kobe 1
Year: 2006
The idea of bringing back something as rare as the Stash x Nike Kobe 1 might be as triggering for some as bringing back a shoe like the Undefeated x Air Jordan 4. But now that it appears that all bets are off when it comes to Nike retroing grails, we might as well ask for one of the rarest sneakers in the history of the Nike Kobe line. This Stash project from 2006 came at the height of the graff artist’s Nike collab era, and while not as well known as sneakers like his Air Force 1 Low and Air Max 95 (both also rumored to return soon), is among the most coveted Kobes ever. It featured varsity jacket design cues with its wool and leather upper adorned with a list of Bryant’s achievements written in script, and fittingly came in an ultra-exclusive pack that included a matching varsity jacket and special box. We don’t need the whole set, but a proper release of the sneaker would be a huge deal for those that were around at the time and remember the hype around this exclusive Kobe. —Zac Dubasik
Nike Kobe 6 Protro ‘WNBA’ PE
Via Jeff Haynes / Getty
Year: 2022
First and foremost, this is the perfect encapsulation of Kobe Bryant. No NBA star supported the WNBA and the women’s game more than Bryant did—the W even named an award after him and Gigi in 2022, the Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award. We’ve all seen the photo of Bryant and Gigi sitting courtside with Kobe wearing the bright orange WNBA hoodie, the exact piece of clothing that this player exclusive is inspired by. We’ve seen players like Jalen Brunson, Kobe king DeMar DeRozan, and Josh Giddey lace them up in games. With the momentum behind the WNBA and women’s basketball in general at an all-time high, now would be the perfect time for this pair to have its first official retail release. Also, this sneaker is orange. And if you know me, you know that alone is just about enough for me to want it to release. —Ben Felderstein
Nike Kobe 7 ‘What The’
Year: 2012
Most “What The” sneakers are bad. Most of them do not need to exist. The theme, which started on the SB Dunk in 2007 and mashes up multiple colorways into a single shoe, got seriously tired in the last decade as Nike, and even other brands, pumped out more and more random “What The” remixes. There was rarely a good reason for that—it’s always “What The?” and never “Why The?” This Nike Kobe 7 arrived before the theme jumped the shark, back when the shoes still felt like a fun, uber colorful alternative rather than an obvious hype grab. And the Kobe 7 is still one of the sharpest, sleekest silhouettes in the Nike Kobe line for off-court wear. —Brendan Dunne
Nike Kobe 5 ‘Inspector Gadget’ PE
Year: 2010
It’s admittedly a little funny to call for a retro of a Kobe sneaker that was never even worn by Kobe. Actually, it was never worn at all—except by PJ Tucker, years later. As the story goes, it was supposed to be worn by Shannon Brown (do your Googles kids) in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest. Brown came off the bench for the Lakers from 2008 to 2011 and was there for Kobe’s final two rings. He had quite a reputation for dunking, briefly, and has this highlight. But we remember him most for this pair of Kobe 5s. Nicknamed after the ‘80s cartoon, the “Inspector Gadget” featured a silver upper, blue midsole, and red lining. Maybe it’s a bit of nostalgia from watching re-runs of the cartoon they were themed after as a kid, or maybe we just remember seeing these all over blogs at the time. But these just were just always one of those awesome pairs that we wished we could own. Couple that with their obscure origin story and we think it would be a cool one to see actually release to the public. Maybe even slap some official Inspector Gadget logos on the heel or something. We know Nike likes to do that sort of thing these days. —Mike DeStefano
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