Nike Kobe 9 EM Protro “China” releases on November 22

Considering how prolific his lifestyle arm has been in recent months via the Kobe Bryant Air Force 1 venture, we could forgive some of our readers for losing sight of Bryant’s performance line. As we look ahead to further iterations of the Kobe 3 as the latest entrant into the Protro universe and the reintroduction of its first silhouette, there’s even more on the table for a current standard-bearer as the Nike Kobe 9 EM revisits its “China” edition.

This side of the ‘Mambacita’, the Nike Kobe 9 EM Protro has focused on Team Bank colorways rather than any kind of special editions, marking this as the first pair since breaking away from that simplistically shaded world. With no in-hand images yet, we’ll have to rely on the color codes (University Red/Metallic Gold/Black) to project what this pair will include. The tongue will really be the make-or-break part, originally a traditional artistic interpretation of the Black Mamba’s namesake.

On a narrative note, this continues the connection between China and the Mamba legacy, visited with several Chinese New Year pairings such as the “Year of the Mamba” and a new Protro invention in the Kobe 4 “CHBL.” As we turn our eyes to the new year, the return of couples like the Kobe 8 “Year of the Horse” will only work to rekindle that relationship.

At time of publication, the Nike Kobe 9 EM Protro “China” is expected to land on November 22, likely at or above the silhouette’s usual sticker price of $180.

Written by

Matt Varga, junior editor

Matt Varga is an editor at SneakerNews. Initially pursuing a degree in Video Art and Technology, he moved into video editing and writing in the music business, primarily in the fields of hip-hop and electronica. A long-standing interest in sneakers led him to switch to shoes. He is an avid collector and his favorite sneaker of all time comes down to the Air Jordan 1 ‘Black Toe’ and the Air Jordan 5 ‘Laney’, his very first pickups. When he’s not writing, you can find Matt cooking, traveling, going to concerts and, weather permitting, on the handball court.