Villain Vibes: Jalen Brunson’s Latest Nike Kobe 6 PE is Darth Vader Black

No matter how much New Yorkers try to turn the Knicks into a lovable bunch, everyone knows the Kith Knicks are villains. And as the villainous Knicks get ready to tip off a second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Jalen Brunson is leaning into the bad guy role with a Darth Vader colorway on his latest Nike Kobe PE.

Made to match the Knicks' black alternate jerseys, the Nike Kobe 6 Protro Knightfall Vader Jalen Brunson PE was posted by Brunson on Instagram after he debuted the colorway at Madison Square Garden in game five of the team’s first-round series against Atlanta. Inspiration comes from Star Wars’ most famous character, Anakin Skywalker, and his turn from the light side of the Force to the dark side, eventually becoming the Sith lord Darth Vader.

Featuring a gradient colorway that starts with light grey on the toe of the Mamba snakeskin textured upper, the shoe gets darker as it moves towards the heel, ending in a Vader black shade at the back. The Swoosh brings in its own gradient, moving from blue to red, a color combo that’s then mimicked on the outsole. Obviously, the light-to-dark theme matches the lightsaber colors associated with each side of the Force, as the blue portion of the Swoosh logo starts on the lighter side and the red portion sits on the darker end.

So far, we haven’t seen Jalen Brunson’s Nike Kobe 6 Protro Knightfall Vader colorway on the Nike drop calendar, but like most other Brunson Kobe PEs, the pair could make its way to retail after Brunson gets a chance to give it an exclusive run first. For all the latest NBA PE sneaker news and drop info, download the Sole Retriever App.

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com