Nike Basketball Presents the Year of the Mamba Collection

A new year is upon us and Nike Basketball is sparing no time in diving into its releases for 2025. In anticipation of this week's Nike Kobe 5 Protro "Year of the Mamba" drop, the brand has unveiled not only its entire Year of the Mamba collection, but two upcoming shoe drops as well, highlighting a total of four sneaker releases and an apparel capsule.

With it about to be the Year of the Snake, it's the perfect time for Kobe Bryant's "Mamba Mentality" to take center stage. “With this capsule, we’re not extending athletes a year of good luck. We’re not saying, ‘Have a good year.’ We’re challenging athletes to have a tough year, proving to themselves that they can channel Mamba Mentality to unlock their goals," shares Bronson Yim, product line manager for Kobe footwear. Looking first at the two Year of the Mamba pairs, we see the Nike Kobe 5 Protro presented in the "Eggplant" and "University Red" versions of the thematic look that we previewed previously. Each colorway sports a golden snake at the lateral and Mandarin at the tongue's interior that nods to the Year of the Snake. Special packaging has been prepared in red with golden detailing as well. While the "Eggplant" pair drops globally this week, the "University Red" iteration is an exclusive to China.

"Mamba Mentality" is also highlighted via this apparel capsule from Nike Basketball. A satin-like jacket with a quilted interior leads the range in white with Kobe's logo at the chest and back. The rear also features "Mamba Mentality" text alongside the same golden snake design that is seen on the kicks. However, this snake notably sports the five rings that symbolize Kobe's five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. This motif is also present across a crewneck, fleece pants and t-shirt, featured in colors of white, black and red.

On top of the Lunar New Year celebration, the Swoosh is gearing up to drop two additional Kobe Protro styles. First up, the Kobe 6 Protro "All-Star 2.0" nods to Kobe's namesake NBA All-Star Game trophy as the silhouette's traditional snakeskin-inspired texture has been modified to a star pattern as its off-white base combines with black contrast. The Kobe 9 Elite Protro "Masterpiece" is making its return as the final element of this presentation. The familiar colorway sees a mostly-black look accented by multicolor detailing while the build has been updated with a new traction pattern on the inside of the foot and a modern React foam midsole.

The rollout of these releases begins this week with the Nike Kobe 5 Protro "Year of the Mamba" and its accompanying apparel dropping on January 9. From there, the Nike Kobe 9 Elite Protro "Masterpiece" hits shelves on February 8 while the Nike Kobe 6 Protro "All-Star 2.0" drops on February 13 in celebration of NBA All-Star Weekend.

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