April 8, 2026
The collection will show the team colors of the 12 teams that bypassed him and the colors of the team that drafted him before trading him to the Lakers.
In a novel move, the Nike Kobe 4 Protro “Draft Day” collection will showcase the colors of the 13 NBA teams that passed on the legendary Laker guard Kobe Bryant
The sneaker will be released on June 26, 30 years after the 1996 draft.
According to Footwear News, the latest Kobes will sell through the Snkrs app and select third-party retailers, with a suggested retail price of $190. The Charlotte Hornets drafted Bryant with the No. 13 pick in that year’s draft, and he was quickly traded to the Lakers, setting up a long, historic career.
One of the sneakers, the one representing the Raptors, has leaked. It reveals both of Kobe’s uniform numbers from his career with the Lakers: 8 (on the left heel) and 24, both in the Raptors’ purple. The inside of the left tongue shows “1996 NBA Draft,” while the right tongue shows Kobe’s draft number 13, and K. Bryant.
The 12 franchises that passed up on Bryant are the Toronto Raptors, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Vancouver Grizzlies, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Dallas Mavericks, the New Jersey Nets, the Indiana Pacers, the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hornets, of course, traded Bryant after selecting him.
Chosen before Bryant in the 1996 draft: Allen Iverson (76ers), Marcus Camby (Raptors), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Grizzlies), Stephon Marbury (Bucks), Ray Allen (Timberwolves), Antoine Walker (Celtics), Lorenzen Wright (Clippers), Kerry Kittles (Nets), Samaki Walker (Mavericks), Erick Dampier (Pacers), Todd Fuller (Warriors), and Vitaly Potapenko (Cavaliers).
Only two players, Iverson and Allen, made it to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Bryant played his entire career with the Lakers, winning five NBA championships, becoming a two-time Finals MVP, and earning the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player award. He made the All-Star team 18 times and became the youngest player to reach 30,000 points. In his final game before retiring in 2016, he scored an NBA season-high 60 points.
The 41-year-old basketball legend died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others on Jan. 26, 2020.
RELATED CONTENT: Kobe Bryant-Michael Jordan Card Scores $3.17M At Auction
