The Numbers Behind the Kobe Bryant x Nike Partnership

The Kobe Bryant x Nike partnership is officially over. A collaboration that began all the way back in 2005 with the Nike, this was inspired by the iconic Air Huarache which was a sneaker that the Black Mamba was seriously obsessed with. Released on Christmas Day, Bryant wore this signature shoe in some of his most iconic scoring moments, including tournaments with the Mavericks and the Raptors where he destroyed them by 62 and 81 points, respectively.

We will always miss Kobe Wan Kenobi and he'll always have a special place in our heart. As this legendary era comes to a close, we want to take a look back at some of the stats and numbers behind one of the great sneaker collaborations of all time. What was his most popular silhouette? Which pairs have the most resale value? You'll find all the answers right here at The Sole Supplier.

From its initial debut in 2005 all the way to 2021, there have been nearly 600 releases in the Nike x Kobe collection, this means Bryant has, on average, dropped about 38 colourways every single year for the past 16 years. This is no small feat considering there are very few collaborations that can compete against a partnership of this calibre. Modern team up's with public figures are lucky to last over five years, never mind almost two decades.

Across these 600 pairs, the Lord Of The Rings has worked on over 15 silhouettes. While sneakerheads probably think that the most popular one is the Kobe 1, our findings suggest that his popular pair is actually the Kobe AD. If you're wondering which colourway is the most searched for across Google, it's the "Wolf Grey" that released in 2017.

It should come as no surprise when we say that the Kobe 1 has the highest resale value. Arguable Bryant's most discussed silhouette, collaborations with brands such as Premium Goods and UNDEFEATED make it, on average, the most valuable shoe in his entire range.

With that said, what's the most sought-after collab? That title goes to the Devin Booker PE that's made in partnership with the Phoenix Suns shooting guard. Launched back in 2018, some of the prices on secondary marketplaces like StockX are absolutely ridiculous which should come as no surprise considering this is a player exclusive shoe (£82,901, last time we checked).

The latest Kobe x Nike release is the UNDEFEATED x Kobe 5 Protro "Hall of Fame" which is the spiritual sequel to the UNDEFEATED x Nike Kobe 4 Protro Collection from 2019. One of his final sneakers before the end of the era, it has an average resell price of £356 which is about 123% above its original retail price.

So what's in-store for the future? Before Kobe Bryant tragically passed away, rumour has it that he was already looking to leave the Swoosh to start his own sneaker brand called Mamba. While this was never officially confirmed, new sources are stating that Vanessa Bryant has filed for 14 trademarks to cover words and phrases such as "Play Gigi’s Way", "Mamba", "Mambacita", "Baby Mambas", and "Mamba League". These will allegedly be used across a range of clothing and footwear.

Whether or not this receives the same amount of hype as the Kobe Bryant x Nike partnership remains to be seen, but it will undoubtedly be popular amongst real Black Mamba fans.