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Kobe Bryant is retired from the NBA, but his sneakers are still a staple on court.
After a somewhat disappointing retirement line with the AD line, the Black Mamba and Nike have totally redeemed themselves with the ultra exciting Protro series.
Returning to the roots of the retros but upgrading each model with modern performance edge, this line looks to stand for the legacy Kobe and Avar built over the years while staying true to their top of the line tech and innovate first Mamba Mentality.
While Kobe won’t be lacing up his reloaded retros on court, we’ve got eight ideas for who should carry the Protro series.
DeMar DeRozan
Compton’s own DeMar DeRozan has been ballin’ out in Kobes since his college career at USC.
Now a perennial All-Star in T Dot, the two-guard has been channelling the Black Mamba on foot and in the stat sheet, lighting the league up in scoring.
Already equipped to carry on tradition, DeRozan turned heads at All-Star Weekend by rocking UNDFTD camo takes on the Kobe 1 Protro in limited and PE fashion.
Here’s to hoping he gets many more Protro PEs to come.
Devin Booker
Hot take coming, you ready? Devin Booker may be better at 21 than Kobe.
Debatable? Sure. But don’t let playing for a lesser franchise in regards to visibility and record detract from the fact that the youngin’ already has a 70 point performance on his resume.
Already a proven and polished scorer with a drive to get better and dedication to the details, D Book is another son-of-a-pro player capable of getting buckets in Avar designs.
De’Aaron Fox
Just like Michael Jordan had Mike Bibby on his roster, the Mamba men need a point guard on the rise.
Who better than De’Aaron Fox?
Rocking Kobes in high school, college and the pros, the Sacramento star on the rise would be a great West Coast extension of Kobe’s kick catalog once retooled.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo is already set to see his own signature shoe.
Until then he should push Protros.
Popping up at All-Star Weekend in his own UNDFTD x Nike Kobe 1 Protro PE, we’d love to see the Greek Freek lace upgraded takes on the Kobe 3 and other oddities from the Avar archive before he scores his own sig.
Gary Harris
A star on the rise, it’s safe to say that Gary Harris is the type of player Kobe would like to have on his team.
Scoring with the best of them at Michigan State, the Denver do-it-all guard has reinvented himself as a lockdown defender only to re-find his ability to fill it up.
An out of this world athlete, G would be the perfect player to relaunch retooled low tops from the Protro line.
Isaiah Thomas
The son of a Lakers fan, Isaiah Thomas has landed in LaLa Land.
While the KOC favorite was best known for rocking retro Js at Washington, since hitting his pro prime he’s been all about the Mamba line.
His archive Kobe 4s have been falling apart on the court, what better reason to lace him with some upgraded Protros?
Trevor Ariza
Once a rising star blossoming under the tutelage of Kobe, Trevor Ariza is now a savvy vet.
Just like Jordan Brand picked up older ambassadors of the game like Juwan Howard, Ariza’s winning ways would make perfect sense for Protro.
Kobe loves a contender, right?
Kyle Kuzma
Just like a blossoming Bean, Kyle Kuzma does not lack confidence a single bit.
Already outshining any expectations placed on his rookie season, the stretch forward is reshaping the archetype for his position just like Kobe added athleticism and IQ to the wing.
Seen in everything from custom ADs to engineered mesh favorites out of rotation, lacing Kuz in purple PEs and MPLS remakes couldn’t make much more sense.
