The Nike Kobe Protro line has remastered many of the signature of sneakers from Kobe Bryant‘s playing career, and at the end of this year it will turn to the first model to release after his retirement.
The Nike Kobe AD Protro “Ruthless Precision” will see the launch colorway for the 2016 model make a return. Metallic grey dominates the shoe through its upper and sole unit, with white used for the branding elements and a portion of the medial midsole. An iridescent sheen can then be found on the heel counter, which hosts a raised Kobe logo.
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Other marks include a snake DNA symbol and Bryant’s signature on the left and right mustache, respectively, as well as Bryant’s ogo incorporated above the toe into the textile mesh.
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Although details of the technical upgrades aren’t known yet, there’s a good chance it will make use of modern Cushlon 3.0 foam like other Kobe Protro models. The original shoe used Lunarlon for its midsole with a Zoom Air in its heel and featured Dynamic Flywire within its upper.
The Kobe AD line continued with TK new models after Bryant’s retirement: the Kobe AD Nxt, Kobe AD 360 and Kobe Nxt 360 FastFit. Although it didn’t carry the number system from his playing career, it was not considered a takedown series and featured similar price points to the numbered Kobes.
“Ruthless Precision” launched the first Kobe AD in November 2016, seven months after Bryant had officially retired.
The Nike Kobe AD Protro “Ruthless Precision” will release during the holiday 2026 season. Pricing has not yet been confirmed.
