New Nike Kobe 4 Protro appears to leak

When Nike released the “Zoom Kobe 1 Protro” last year, sneakerheads were left to wonder what other Bryant signatures would get the Protro treatment. Now sneaker news Twitter account @soleheatonfeet appears to have revealed that the Kobe 4 will be the next sneaker in Bryant’s line to get rereleased with modern performance technology.

Sneaker News followed up that report with a few more details on the shoe, including when it will likely release, and an amazing possible name for the first colorway (emphasis mine):

It appears that the fourth signature shoe of the Nike Kobe line is set to make a return in early 2019 in what is likely the “Draft Day” colorway, a Hornets-themed teal and purple that reminds us that it was actually the Charlotte franchise that drafted the future five-time NBA champion.

The Nike Kobe 4 is considered by many to be his most significant model for a number of reasons; it played a big role in ushering in the low-cut movement to the mainstream, while the model itself was on his feet when he won his fourth NBA title. For now, the Nike Kobe 4 Protro is set to drop in February, with more colorways are more than likely to release in 2019 as well.

You read that right: Kobe is probably releasing a shoe in Charlotte Hornets colors in what — given Kobe’s reputation — is probably one of the most amazing troll jobs in NBA history. They are presumably calling the colorway “Draft Day” because “Hey Charlotte? Yeah, you. Remember me? The guy you traded for Vlade Divac? Here’s what it would have looked like if I had won five titles for you lmaoooooooo enjoy historical irrelevancy” was too long of a title for a shoe colorway.

Anyway, this presumably won’t be the only colorway of the shoe to release, but this initial one looks pretty great, Hornets trolling aside. Still, it will be exciting to see what other colorways drop, and a Lakers-colored one seems like a near-guaranteed bet to be among them.

You can follow Harrison on Twitter at @hmfaigen.