Alright, let’s talk about tracking down the Kobe 5 release date. It wasn’t as straightforward as I thought it would be, honestly.
So, the other day, I was just reminiscing about some classic sneakers, you know? And the Kobe 5 popped into my head. Such an iconic look. I got curious about when they actually first came out. Seemed simple enough.
My first step, like most people, I guess, was just hitting up a search engine. Typed in something basic like “Kobe 5 release date”. But right away, I saw the issue. There wasn’t just one Kobe 5 release date floating around.
Sorting Through the Versions
See, the problem was all the different versions. You had the original releases from back when Kobe was playing in them, and then you have the more recent “Protro” releases. They look similar, but they’re technically different runs, different years.
I had to refine my search. I was thinking about the original run. The ones from the 2009-2010 NBA season. So I tried searching specifically for “Nike Zoom Kobe 5 original release date”. That helped narrow things down a bit.
I started clicking through some sneaker blogs and forums. Places where people really track this stuff. Needed to see what the consensus was.
- Found mentions of late 2009.
- Saw specific colorways listed with dates around December 2009 and early 2010.
- Realized different colorways dropped at slightly different times.
Pinpointing the Originals vs. Protros
Okay, so digging deeper, it looked like the very first wave of the OG Kobe 5s started hitting shelves around December 2009. I specifically remember the hype around the ‘Chaos’ colorway, which dropped right around then, leading into 2010. More colorways followed throughout that season.
Then you have the Protro versions. Those are much more recent. Nike started bringing back the Kobe 5 in Protro form around 2020. So, if you see a Kobe 5 release date from 2020 or later, that’s definitely a Protro, not the OG launch.
So, to wrap it up:
Original Nike Zoom Kobe 5: Started releasing in late 2009 (around December) and continued into 2010.
Nike Kobe 5 Protro: Started releasing around 2020.
Took a bit of digging to sort out the originals from the retros, but got there eventually. Crazy how many versions of these classics are out there now. Good shoe, man. Definitely a memorable one.
