Nike Kobe Prelude

Every closet—no, scratch that—every pair of feet needs the Nike Kobe Prelude because what better way is there to pay tribute to Bryant's legendary career than by wearing one of his eight pairs of signature sneakers that were influenced by art and his career highlights?

The Nike Kobe Prelude collection, designed by Eric Avar, is a unique collection because it was released in 2013 week by week for eight weeks as a lead-up to the unveiling of the Nike Kobe 9. That's right, each week a new special-edition colorway was introduced, each one revisiting his signature models but enhanced and inspired by artistic genres such as surrealism, abstract expressionism, pop art, and cubism.

The Nike Kobe Prelude 7 pays tribute to his gold medal win at the London Games. The cool gray, black, and gold sneaker incorporates cubist art with metallic gold accents on the heel, tongue, and Nike swoosh. Then there’s the Nike Kobe 5 Prelude that pays homage to the Nike Kobe 5 which is a lower and lighter sneaker. This model is a shout-out to his second (back-to-back!) NBA Finals MVP award and takes cues from pop art and turns out a colorful, powerful, and bold colorway.

Every Nike Kobe Prelude includes a crew loot patch stitched into the insole heel that accentuates the inspiration. The Nike Kobe 1 Prelude patch shows 81pts reflecting Kobe's famous 81-point game. What we love about this collection of silhouettes is that Kobe Bryant's basketball life history has been etched on sneakers. Buy and sell them all now on StockX.