Nike Releases Kobe Bryant’s Newest Sneaker


Shortly after the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant, all his merchandise flew off the shelves, especially his legendary footwear. Nike made the prudent decision to hold off on restocking any Kobe merchandise indefinitely.

Additionally, sneakers scheduled to release throughout February and March were postponed. Fans of the Black Mamba had to pay exorbitant resale prices for any apparel or memorabilia they could get their hands on.

In a time when everyone needs some good news, Laker Nation just received something to cheer them up. Nike quietly released the first new Kobe sneaker since January.

Nike Mamba Fury

The Mamba Fury is a “takedown” model, essentially a budget-friendly hoop shoe. It has fewer technical investments than more expensive shoes (including other Kobe’s).

It is not the first budget shoe to come out of Nike’s Kobe collection. Over the better part of the past decade, Nike has released several affordable shoes designed for Kobe fans; KB Mentality, Kobe Venomenon, Mamba Instinct, Mamba Rage, Mamba Focus.

Every one of those shoes were more than capable of performing on the court. However, they often sacrificed the newest Nike tech to have a more affordable price tag (usually around $100).

These shoes are no different. The Mamba Fury closely resembles the Mamba Focus (which released in 2019) both in appearance and technology.

Again, Nike opted to use a phylon midsole with a Nike Zoom bag in the forefoot for extra cushioning. The traction pattern on the outsole is the same as its predecessor, and will likely give a similar performance.

The noticeable difference is a newly designed textile “upper” with a barely visible snakeskin pattern knitted in. The new-look upper will allow Nike to tinker with different colorways and patterns of the new shoe.

Although Nike played it very safe with this model, there are still several key elements you can count on from a Kobe shoe. It’s a lightweight, low-cut shoe with a minimal setup that allows for maximum court feel. For a more in-depth review, you can find an excellent video by Weartesters on YouTube.

The Kobe logo and branding all over the shoe will make the Mamba Fury highly sought after, and will likely be hard to find for a reasonable price. The Mamba Fury is still lingering around in select sizes on smaller websites. As of right now, you cannot find a pair of these shoes on Nike’s website or any of the other major retailers.

For a shoe that retailed at $99.99, it is currently going for more than $150 on the resale app GOAT. The takedown Kobe models never received much hype before January 2020, now even they are being resold at an exponential markup.

History

Any hoops fan and sneakerhead could give you a detailed account of the impact Kobe Bryant had on basketball shoes. After starting his career with Adidas, and a year as a sneaker free agent, the future Hall of Famer signed with Nike in 2003.

Throughout the partnership, Kobe constantly pushed Nike in a more progressive direction. No more heavy high-tops, instead he got lightweight shoes that looked more like soccer cleats. His signature line included 11 models that left an indelible mark on basketball and sneaker culture.

The relationship between Kobe and Nike was a match made in heaven. Together they collaborated on some of the most important basketball shoes in history. His fanbase overseas matched that of his followers stateside. His footwear became the preferred choice of many of his contemporaries in the league.

Following Bryant’s retirement in April of 2016, Nike released the Kobe A.D. in November of 2016. Eerily, and perhaps on purpose, the celebration of the first post-retirement shoe felt more like a funeral than a party.

In addition to the A.D. series, Kobe’s collection had an even more expensive line of shoes dubbed the “NXT” series, which often debuted Nike’s newest technical advancements. The AD NXT, AD NXT 360, AD NXT Fast Fit were released one after another.

The “NXT” line truly pushed the boundaries on what we imagined hoop shoes could be. Ultralight, minimal, and sometimes laceless.

In 2018, Nike began releasing “Protro” versions of Kobe’s signature sneakers from his playing days. “Protro” being a combination of the words ‘performance’ and ‘retro’. The Kobe 1, Kobe 4, and Kobe 5 were re-released with new upgrades to already stellar models.

Future

Before the events of January 26, 2020, Nike had planned to continue the process of releasing upgraded retros with the Kobe 5 Protro. Since that time, several colorways of the Kobe 5 Protro that were on the release calendar were quietly postponed.

Fans who want to get a pair of Kobe’s have to pay far more than the shoes retail price. For example, a pair of Kobe 5 Protros in the “Chaos” colorway are being sold for more than double what they were worth four months ago.

Right now, the future of Kobe’s partnership with Nike is still unclear. There is still no official word on if or when the “A.D.”, “NXT”, or “Protro” lines will return. But with the release of the Nike Mamba Fury, the legions of Kobe fans throughout the world can see a glimmer of hope.

The demand for Kobe’s shoes will be high for many years to come. If and when Nike and the Bryant family feel it’s appropriate to begin mass-producing his gear again, you can count on people from every corner of the globe wanting something, anything with his name on it.

It will be interesting to see how one of the best marketing brands on the planet revives the collection of one of the most popular and influential athletes of all time. Kobe Bryant was a force of nature who packed centuries of accomplishments into 41 years. His fingerprints are all over Nike, the NBA, and the next generation of athletes.

Until then, if you are to able scoop up the Nike Mamba Fury online, then you will be getting a solid performing shoe that remains true to the vision of its namesake.

 

Forbes

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KB MentalityKobe VenomenonMamba Focus.Mamba InstinctMamba RageNike

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