A novel idea from Nike for the Nike Kobe 4 Protro “Draft Day” collection will showcase the colors of the 13 NBA teams that passed on the legendary Lakers forward Kobe Bryant when the sneaker releases on June 26, 30 years after the 1996 draft.
According to Footwear News, the latest Kobes will sell through the Snkrs app and select third-party retailers, with a suggested retail price of $190. The New Orleans Hornets drafted Kobe with the No. 13 pick in that year’s draft, and he was quickly traded to the Lakers, setting up the long, historic career of the NBA Hall of Famer. The collection will show the team colors of the 12 teams that bypassed him.
One of the sneakers, the one representing the Raptors, has leaked. It reveals both of Kobe’s uniform numbers he wore during his career with the Lakers: 8 (on the left heel) and 24, both in the Raptors’ purple. The inside of the left tongue shows “1996 NBA Draft,” while the right tongue you can see Kobe’s draft number 13, and K. Bryant.
The 12 franchises are the Toronto Raptors, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Vancouver Grizzlies, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks, the New Jersey Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the Golden State Warriors, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 13th colorway will also feature the Hornets’ colors.
That draft featured, in the order of the picks, Allen Iverson (76ers), Marcus Camby (Raptors), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Grizzlies), Stephon Marbury (Bucks), Ray Allen (Timberwolves), Antoine Walker (Celtics), Lorenzen Wright (Clippers), Kerry Kittles (Nets), Samaki Walker (Mavericks). Erick Dampier (Pacers), Todd Fuller (Warriors), Vitaly Potapenko (Cavaliers). Only two of those players, Iverson and Allen, made it to the coveted Naismith Hall of Fame.
Bryant played his entire career with the Lakers, winning five NBA championships, becoming a two-time Finals MVP, and earning the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player award. He made the All-Star team 18 times and became the youngest player to reach 30,000 points. In his final game before retiring in 2016, he scored an NBA season-high 60 points. The 41-year-old basketball legend died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others on Jan. 26, 2020.
Nike Plans June Release Of Kobe 4 Protro ‘Draft Day’ Collection, On 30th Anniversary Of Kobe Bryant’s Draft Date
