Nike Kobe 8: PEs for a Lost Season

Nike may have unveiled Kobe Bryant’s ninth signature model yesterday, but there are still some untold chapters in the story of the Kobe 8. Under normal circumstances, we would have seen a countless amount of Kobe 8 PEs on his feet between last season and the start of the 2013-2014 campaign, but as we all know, Kobe has been sidelined since tearing his Achilles tendon against the Warriors last April and has missed a considerable chunk of court time. As a result, several player exclusive editions of the Kobe 8 that Nike had lined up and waiting for their superstar endorser never got to experience the bright spotlight of the NBA hardwood.

Before we transition all of our attention over to the Kobe 9, we’re bringing you an exclusive look at some PE colorways of the Kobe 8 that fell through the cracks in terms of public visibility, including a super-rare White/Gold installment of this year’s Elite series model. The other pairs that you’re about to see may have never made it into a Lakers game, but they’ve all recently been worn by Kobe during his rehab workouts and return to team practices. As you can see, they’ve also been autographed and authenticated, and now thanks to S. Sami, who’s amazing Kobe collection you’ve already seen here on Select, we’ve got an up-close look for all our readers.

NIKE KOBE 8 “LAKERS HOME” PE

Kobe colorways have become so creatively complicated in recent years, that many times, it’s actually few and far between that we actually see simple Lakers colorways. The purple and gold seemed more scarce than ever with the Kobe 8, which is why this clean

white Lakers home edition featuring a graphic-less upper and speckled midsole would have no doubt been a welcomed addition had it appeared on Kobe’s feet, or better yet, made it to retail.

NIKE KOBE 8 “LAKERS PIT VIPER” PE

Going the completely opposite route of the minimal “Lakers Home” pair, the “Pit Viper” graphic was one of the most ambitious and enticing of all the Kobe 8 colorways. While the pair that hit store shelves in October featured light blue accents, this PE version of

the Pit Viper made just for Kobe swaps out the blue for a rich yellow that even work’s its way into the snake scale pattern. Sadly, we’ll just have use our imaginations to picture how sharp these would have looked with the Lakers uniform.

NIKE KOBE 8 PP “BLACK/PURPLE” PE

Unlike the previous two colorways, this Black/Purple PE version of the Kobe 8 PP has actually been spotted on Kobe’s feet. A few days after Kobe’s return to practice last month, a video surfaced of the Black Mamba getting back to business in this player exclusive

color-up. Also seen on teammate Nick Young earlier this year, the purple installment of the PP series gave the bold graphic application its most Lakers-centric look of all and would have been a fitting addition to the collection.

NIKE KOBE 8 ELITE “WHITE/GOLD” PE

When Nike Basketball introduced the Elite Series 2.0 “Gold Collection”, something didn’t quite match up. The LeBron and KD offerings featured a clean white base, but for some reason, the Kobe 8 version went the opposite route and switched it up with an almost entirely blacked-out make-up. Months later, here we see the White/Gold edition of

the Kobe 8 Elite, which would have made a lot more sense alongside it’s gold-Swooshed counterparts. It’s unclear why the black released instead of this white pair, and with Kobe barely getting to play in the Elite before his injury, it remains one of the only additional colorways to surface.

A huge thanks to S. Sami for sharing a look at these lost gems with us and all of our readers. For more Kobe heat, stay tuned to Sami’s Instagram, @s_universal.