Update, November 12: It’s out now on SNKRS in the US, the UK and Spain.
The Kobe 8 Protro “Shanghai Fireworks” is back, and this time not only in China. Nike’s SNKRS listings dated it for Wednesday, November 11, in the US, the UK and Spain. It dropped at $200 in the US, with SNKRS UK and SNKRS Spain opening seven hours before the US.
Shanghai, October 2013
Nike says the “Shanghai Fireworks” first came out in 2013. That pair was sold only in China, as Sneaker News noted when the Protro first surfaced. That October, the Lakers played their first preseason games in Asia. They met the Warriors in Beijing and then in Shanghai, at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on October 18 (the NBA’s schedule).
Kobe was out with a torn Achilles and didn’t play. Yao Ming, a Shanghai native, watched courtside. But the loudest ovation went to Kobe when he joined the Lakers’ bench, says ESPN’s recap of the game.
Nike’s listing says the upper’s artwork depicts “the brilliance of a fireworks display”. Thirteen years on, the shoe has reached the US, the UK and Spain for the first time.
Fireworks across the upper
Nike’s colour line is Laser Orange and Safety Orange. In Nike’s photos the synthetic upper is printed with bursts of orange, red and white under a black Swoosh. Kobe’s signature sits on the orange heel counter, and the outsole is icy translucent rubber. As a Protro, it gets a Nike React foam insert, Nike says.
Can you still get a pair?
It’s on Nike’s SNKRS listing and Foot Locker’s release calendar in the US at $200; big kids’ sizes are $125 on SNKRS. The UK and Spain got it the same day. It’s £174.99 on SNKRS UK. It’s 189.99 € on SNKRS Spain. Sizes vary by market, so check the listings directly rather than assume a size is gone.
Our hype score is 60: until this drop, the only way to own a pair was from China, so expect popular sizes to go first across all three markets. The Kobe 8 topped our November list.
