In the NBA Draft, greatness doesn’t always come from where you’d expect. When Nikola Jokic was drafted by the Denver Nuggets—41st overall in the second round—a Taco Bell commercial was playing on the official broadcast. Giannis Antetokounmpo went 15th overall in 2013; Anthony Bennett, picked first that year, only lasted four years in the league. For every LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama, and Hakeem Olajuwon, there’s a player who emerges from deeper in the draft to change everything. Kobe Bryant was one of those players—and this week, Nike is dropping a whole grip of Kobe 4 Protros to pay homage to his Draft Night journey.
Bryant famously went 13th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft, drafted by the Charlotte Hornets—at the request of the Los Angeles Lakers, who quickly sent them Vlade Divac in exchange for their future franchise player. It’s not like ’96 was a weak draft year and every single franchise that passed on Kobe spent decades kicking themselves. This was the year the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Allen Iverson first overall, with Stephon Marbury and Ray Allen going fourth and fifth. Hell, two picks after Bryant, the Phoenix Suns drafted Steve Nash. Still, there are a handful of teams—the Grizzlies, Celtics, and Clippers come to mind—who one has to imagine wished they’d paid a bit closer attention to the undersized high school phenom who’d go on to become a generational player.
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Courtesy of Nike
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Courtesy of Nike
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Draft, Nike is dropping 13 different colorways of Kobe 4 Protros, one of the most beloved models of the Kobe line. The catch? You don’t get to choose which version you get—they’re being packaged in blind bags, like a pack of baseball cards or Labubus. The base set, consisting of 12 shoes, features all-white uppers and soles, the only splashes of color coming via the outline of the Nike Swoosh, the sockliner, and Bryant’s sheath logo on the tongue. Each of the colorways represents one of the teams that skipped Bryant in ’96: purple and red for the Toronto Raptors, green and purple for the Milwaukee Bucks and so on. If that sounds like a bit of a snooze, don’t doze off just yet. The sneaker’s uppers feature a wear-away material. Put in some time on the court with these, and the white will fade away to reveal the team’s colors.
