Undefeated x Nike, Kobe 4 Protro, Black Mamba Release and Pricing Guide
Originating in Los Angeles circa 2002, the streetwear brand Undefeated is no stranger to collaborations of epic proportions – one of the new brands to have collaborated across Nike, Adidas, Vans, A Bathing Ape, FTP Bear Brick, Timberland and more!
">The love/admiration that Undefeated has for the Black Mamba himself (Kobe Bryant) is no secret – the love affair started with the Undefeated x Nike Kobe 1 Protro back in 2018 with the release of 8 differing colourways from the California based boutique.
For the past 15 years owners Eddie Cruz and James Bond’s (no not 007) teamwork have not only established themselves as the of the most important retailers of sneakers and streetwear globally but also one of the most influential teams pushing the boundaries of design and collaboration today.
Kobe x Undefeated
The streetwear brand is no stranger to collaborations with Nike – having developed a number of amazing collaborations including; the Undefeated x Nike Cortez, Undefeated x Nike Dunk High, Undefeated x Nike HyperDunk and numerous Undefeated x Nike Kobe’s iterations.
Our appetites were thoroughly wet with the release of the 2x original palattes in late July 2018 that were released included the Friends & Family Purple and the exclusive ‘Flight Jacket’ colorways.
Both dropped in highly exclusive numbers prior to the launch of the full pack in August 2018– naturally with any Friends & Family or special releases, the resale often skyrockets as well as inflating the resale of the remaining items in the pack for a number of weeks/months prior to launch.
Both models are now considered holy grails in the sneaker market with less than 10x pairs of each colorway being released into the wild – if you have some spare cash floating around the Friends and Family Purple Nike x Undefeated Protro 1 is currently reselling for USD$ 4,000 and the Flight Jacket Nike x Undefeated Protro 1 is currently reselling for USD$ 2,600 on StockX.
Releasing in August 2018 the remainder of the Undefeated x Nike Protro 1 pack included re-worked versions of the Kobe 1 Protro in; ‘Camo’, ‘White’, ‘Orange Camo’, ‘Red Camo’, ‘Green Camo’ and ‘Yellow Camo’. Whilst released in far greater numbers than the Friends & Family/ Flight Jacket colorways all versions are doing fairly well on the resale market and a fairly easy on feet cop if you are looking for a little splurge for your birthday.
Nike x Kobe 4 Protro Birthday Pack
Continuing the love for the Black Mamba himself, Undefeated designed a pack of four limited release iterations of a remastered Kobe 4’s released in conjunction with Kobe’s birthday (August 23rd) and the apply named Black Mamba Day (August 24th).
Released in 4 different tonse on an updated Kobe 4 silhouette each shoe was dedicated to a member of Team Kobe; Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), and Demar Derozan (San Antonio Spurs).
Based on the much loved original Kobe 4, look, the Kobe 4 Protro’s included an upper of mixed leather and patent leather, Nike Flywire technology, Kobe + Undefeated Strike logos on both insoles and tongues, Black Mamba jersey numbers #8 and #24 emblazoned on the heel and sparkling Undefeated text just above the bottom of the heel.
Each iteration of the pack released was based on the same Kobe 4 Protro silhouette but colourways were adjusted based on the team of the player each shoe was designed for – Kyle Kuzma’s colourway saw the Lakers purple on the leather and patent leather uppers, white mid soles and gold trims on the Nike Swoosh and insoles.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s colourway included a forest green leather uppers, white/cream soles and black/white Nike Swoosh’s and cream/white insoles to represent the Milwaukee Bucks.
Devin Booker’s silhouette featured bright orange patent uppers, purple detailing around the Nike Swoosh and insole as well as white soles representing the Phoenix Suns’ jerseys and finally Demar Derozan (San Antonio Spurs) received a teal patent upper, mango/orange detailing around the Nike Swoosh/ insole and white soles.
Whilst the individual shoes were available for purchase via the Undefeated online/retail stores and a Nike Sneakers Pass very few collectors were able to snap up the whole pack for retail. Each shoe retailed for USD $180 and individually are reselling for USD $300 – USD$400 (depending on the colourway and size). Owning the whole pack however is a whole different ball game, currently available for USD$1,300 on StockX you can pick up the entire pack and get each shoe for roughly USD$325 a pair. With all of this in mind, you wouldn’t expect to see an Undefeated x Nike Kobe pack drop without a shoe dedicated to the Black Mamba himself, would you?
UNDFTD x Nike Kobe 4 Protro “Black Mamba” Release Date
Kobe fans get ready to see a fifth instalment of the Nike x Undefeated Kobe 4 Protro pack with the Black Mamba version is set to drop on Friday, September 13th, 2019.
Sporting the same revamped silhouette as the remainder of the pack this colourway pays direct respect to the agile and aggressive nature of Kobe Bryant a.k.a The Black Mamba. Black leather uppers, a patent black leather toe box, black/white soles and the Undefeated/ Kobe logos are emblazoned on the insole as well as tongue of each shoe.
One of the most amazing features of this colourway (also visible on the other colourways) is iridescent application you see on the patent toe box. Whilst apparent on the other colourways on the Black Mamba version this iridescent application really makes the shoe represent the scales of the venomous Black Mamba snake itself and just adds to the hype of this shoe and its expected resale price.
Undefeated x Nike, Kobe 4 Protro, Black Mamba – Resale Value
Whilst not releasing in as few numbers the Friends & Family / Flight Jacket colorway mentioned above, the Black Mamba Nike x Undefeated Kobe 4 Protro will release in a slightly less stock numbers than the 4x pack released earlier.
With a more in demand hue, the love for the Black Mamba himself and the slightly decreased stock level should see the resale price of this color hover in the 1.5x -2.5x retail price.
Resale prices are sitting at the $685 mark already before the drop date – you can expect this to dip by the $100 –$200 mark on the drop as more pairs are available and then to slowly rise in price as demand begins to grow after everyone misses out on accessing a pair.
Size Pricing Pro Tips
Most sizes of the Black Mamba colourway will resell well – however make sure you target the smaller sizes and half sizes for a greater chance of a higher resale; US 4 -US 9.5 are currently reselling for 1.5x-2.0x retail. Larger sizes will also be a good target for those looking to get a little extra on the retail, with this run going all the way up to US 16 this will give you a fairly good chance of securing a good pair for resale.
Release date: Friday, September 13th 2019
Retail price: USD $180
Resell price: USD$ 549 – USD $650
Undefeated x Nike, Kobe 4 Protro, Black Mamba – How and where to buy
Getting yourself a pair of Black Mamba’s shouldn’t be too difficult – currently expected to drop online at; Nike.com, SNKRS App and likely Undefeated (online and instore) at a slightly later date.
To get yourself the highest chance of securing a pair ensure you have the SNKRS app running, it is likely a geo-based drop will occur so make sure you are able to spoof your location if required.
Running a few pages on the nike.com webstore on your phone, tablet and desktop will help you get the best chance of securing a pair if it doesn’t drop via a SNKRS pass.
Also ensure you regularly keep an eye on Undefeated, while there is no official news that the retail or online stores will receive any stock it would be rare that an Undefeated collaboration isn’t sold at their own stores.
Good luck copping all and take care,
-Jarred
Kevin –
Do you guys think the Black Mamba will do well over time? I got a size 10.5 and 11.5 but the prices seem to be going down a bit on StockX. Thanks!
Eric –
I am in the same boat. I got 11 and 11.5! I thought these shoes would be fire…. guess time will tell