How To Create Your Own Nike Kobe Draft Pack

On June 26, 1996, one of the greatest NBA Drafts of all-time took place at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The class included 5 future Hall of Famers, 3 MVPs, 2 Defensive Player of the Year winners, 11 All-Stars, 4 Olympic Gold Medalists, over 20 NBA championships, and the one and only Black Mamba. The most iconic player in a draft loaded with basketball and cultural icons, the late Kobe Bryant was both. Bryant was drafted with the 13th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets before being traded a few weeks later to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac*. While plenty of fans and pundits questioned the move at the time because taking a guard fresh out of high school was unheard of, Lakers general manager Jerry West (RIP) saw the vision. Adidas saw the same vision as well, and the rest is (sneaker) history.

Even though Kobe was not a Nike athlete at the time, the brand is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1996 NBA Draft with a Kobe 4 Protro commemorative sneaker pack that features all 13 teams that failed to pick or keep Kobe and the one that got it right. Released in a mystery box format, sneakerheads will not know which team they get until the package is in their hands and they open the blind bag inside the box. While the concept is exciting to a segment of the fandom who loves the dopamine rush of stepping into the unknown, sneaker collectors and Kobe completionists are hating this aura of mystery. Theoretically, someone who wants to complete the set will either have to wait for unwanted colorways to drop on reseller platforms and compete with other collectors or they will have to spend thousands of dollars on mystery boxes without a guarantee they will get the pairs they need. And after pulling the ironically funny Boston Celtics Kobe 4 Protro for the fifth time, is it really worth it?

Thankfully, your friends at Sole Retriever have come up with an alternative that requires zero mystery, although your patience might be tested. With over a dozen Nike signature models attached to Mamba, there have been numerous Kobe colorways throughout the years that have directly or indirectly called out other teams. It might be rivals like the Phoenix Suns or teams that Kobe had personal connections to like the Philadelphia 76ers, but a clever sneakerhead with time and resources could create their own Nike Kobe Draft Pack to fill the missing pieces without the mystery box stress.

*Is there a more snakebitten Laker legend than Vlade? Joins the team in the last days of the Showtime Lakers, his trade kickstarts the Kobe-Shaq era, returns after Shaq’s departure, and retires before the Pau Gasol trade.

#1 Pick - Philadelphia 76ers

Options: Nike Kobe 4 Philly

Despite the relationship between Kobe and the city of Philadelphia going through the full gamut during his playing days, it wouldn't have been as contentious as it was if there wasn’t love between the two. Nike chose to highlight the good days with a special Kobe 4 colorway in 2009 and a Protro re-release in 2024 in the colors and star logos of the Sixers.

#2 Pick - Toronto Raptors

Options: Nike Kobe 8 Mine Grey, Nike Kobe 1 Protro DeMar DeRozan PE

An original colorway from 2013, the Nike Kobe 8 Mine Grey was an underrated drop that DeMar DeRozan could rock whenever the Raptors went back to their classic purple and red uniforms. For those looking for a more modern Raptors vibe, the patent leather DeRozan PE from 2018 is a pricier option, but considering there’s only a 7.25% chance of pulling a Raptors Kobe 4 Protro from the Draft Pack, it can’t be ruled out. Interestingly, Nike never created a Raptors-specific colorway that celebrates Kobe’s 81-point performance. Not that we’re giving away free ideas or anything…

#3 Pick - Vancouver Grizzlies

Options: Nike Kobe 5 Caitlin Clark Scrabble PE, Nike Kobe X Tropical Teal, Nike Kobe 8 Protro Radiant Emerald

Because the Grizzlies would move to Memphis in 2001, Vancouver fans only got to witness Kobe a handful of times before he evolved into the superstar he would become. While there are no Kobes that directly reference the Grizzlies’ early days and colors, there are plenty of teal Kobes that pair up nicely with some throwback shorts that was a huge trend a few summers ago, including one of Caitlin Clark’s final Kobe PEs before graduation to her own signature shoe.

#4 Pick - Milwaukee Bucks

Options: UNDFTD x Nike Kobe 4 Protro Fir, Nike Kobe 7 TB Gorge Green, Nike Kobe 8 TB Gorge Green

There are Kobes in purple and green, but they veer closer to the neon side of the spectrum because of the Joker connection, so we can’t recommend grabbing any of the holiday themed Kobes to slot into the Bucks position. But there are darker green Kobes that fit the Giannis Antetokounmpo-era of the Bucks, including an UNDFTD Kobe 4 in Fir green.

#5 Pick - Minnesota Timberwolves

Options: Nike Kobe 1 Protro MPLS, Nike Kobe 3 MPLS, Nike Kobe 4 MPLS

While the MPLS-themed Kobes do not match any era of the Timberwolves, they are a nod to the previous place that the Lakers franchise called home before moving to Los Angeles. Just don’t tell adidas and Anthony Edwards or they might joke about it on the next ad.

#6 - Boston Celtics

Options: Nike Kobe 9 EM TB Gorge Green, Nike Kobe AD Exodus Gorge Green

It might take a minute before we get Protros of Kobe’s post-playing AD line, but they are recent enough that they can be found on most reseller platforms at reasonable prices. The Team Bank colorway of the Kobe 9 in engineered green might be a little bit more difficult to find in clean condition because they were meant to be used on the courts in gyms across the country instead of on the streets when people still wore primarily hooping shoes.

#7 - Los Angeles Clippers

Options: Nike Kobe 9 EM USA

To be fair, just about any Team USA pair if you’re looking for an alternative Nike Kobe sneaker in Clippers colors, but the fireworks-like graphics on the Kobe 9 in engineered mesh pops in a way that makes the other Kobe USA pairs look stoic and downright stodgy by comparison. And to think, this could have been a more common occurrence if Kobe had chosen to leave and join the Clippers as a free agent in the mid-2000s.

#8 - New Jersey Nets

Options: Nike Kobe AD Midnight Navy

In the late-90s, the New Jersey Nets got away from the tie-dyed era that was symbolic of the Derrick Coleman-Kenny Anderson-Drazen Petrovic years to a look that carried them into the new millennium until they made the move to Brooklyn. Navy blue, metallic silver, and red actually became a common Kobe colorway in recent years, but that’s because of the success of the UConn Huskies basketball programs. One Kobe sneaker that easily could have been worn by former Nets great and longtime rival Jason Kidd is the Kobe AD in Midnight Navy as it has a hint of red on the heel and faded silver accents.

#9 - Dallas Mavericks

Options: Nike Kobe 9 EM Game Royal, Nike Kobe 10 Emerald City

Kobe Bryant’s exploits against the Dallas Mavericks goes under the radar because they faced off against each other in the playoffs once in their career, an underwhelming sweep by the Mavs in 2011 as the Lakers were gassed coming off three straight NBA Finals appearance and the patience was running low on certain players (read: Andrew Bynum). Any blue and silver Kobe in Team Bank colorways will work as Mavericks alternatives. However, maybe a pair worth considering is the Emerald City Kobe 10 that’s an homage to Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch.

#10 - Indiana Pacers

Option: Nike Kobe 7 Obsidian Gold

Despite arguably having the best collection of commercials with the #KOBESYSTEM, the Nike Kobe 7 does not get a lot of love or demand for a Protro. It’s possible the modularity of the sneakers made it more complicated than they had to be, but it was also the drop off in positive feedback from the Kobe 6 that made the Kobe 7 a tough sell. There were a number of memorable colorways of the Kobe 7 that come to mind, but the Obsidian Gold pair was definitely on the lower tier as it wasn’t a PE nor was it given the same attention as the Christmas Cheetah or the colorways that were part of the Animal Pack.

#11 - Golden State Warriors

Option: Nike Kobe 9 EM Gym Blue University Gold

During the first few years of the Golden State Warriors’ run of dominance over the past decade, Andre Iguodala wore Kobe AD PEs in varying combinations of blue, white, and gold. Unfortunately, none of these sneakers ever dropped at retail or did release with modifications and sans any Iggy branding. Despite Kobe’s many battles with the Warriors throughout his career, the number of blue and gold colorways that are not NIKEiD creations are shockingly scarce. One exception is the Nike Kobe 9 EM in Gym Blue and University Gold that fits in nicely with Iguodala’s Warriors kits.

#12 - Cleveland Cavaliers

Option: Nike Kobe AD Exodus Pacific Blue

Depending on your taste, the mid-90s Cleveland Cavaliers uniforms were either the most cartoonish clown show jerseys of all-time or they were a perfect encapsulation of the style from that decade. Imagine an alternate universe where this is Kobe’s rookie year jersey before updating to a more traditional, but also boring, look a year later. A perfect Nike Kobe sneaker to pair up with these unis is a fellow deep cut in the Nike Kobe AD Exodus in bright Pacific Blue that’s actually split with a splash of Turf Orange on the medial side.

#13 - Charlotte Hornets

Options: Nike Kobe 4 Draft Day (but also every other Charlotte Draft Day sneaker)

From now until the end of time, Nike is going to remind the Charlotte Hornets franchise that they royally messed up by trading Kobe. It all began with the Nike Kobe 4 Draft Day in 2009 and it has been an ongoing theme of Kobes ever since. Could we see something similar with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, another future MVP that the Hornets originally drafted and traded away, now that he is with Nike*?

*Yes, the answer is absolutely, positively yes. Write it down, take a picture, a Nike Shai 00? in Hornets colors is on the way.

Los Angeles Lakers (The One That Got It Right)

Options: Any Nike Kobe In Laker Colors

It might be the hardest colors to pull in the Draft Pack, but they are the easiest to find an alternative for should you decide to give up on the chase. And considering the odds are at a microscopic 4%, it might be wise to look elsewhere.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com