PHOTO: Nike unveils Kobe's final on-court shoe
Nike has unveiled Kobe Bryant's newest signature shoe, which will also be his last as an NBA player.
In his final season before retirement, Bryant worked with Nike to create the KOBE 11, which will hit stores Jan. 9.
Nike just unveiled the Kobe 11, will hit on 1/9 & cost $200 a pair pic.twitter.com/9FRaUhTDki
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 14, 2015
Nike explained the design in a press release Monday:
The KOBE 11 is a progressive low-top that distills Bryant’s signature legacy to its essence: high performance, lightweight, responsive and sophisticated design.
The cryptic graphic on the right heel is meant to represent Achilles, the warrior of Greek legend, as a nod both to Bryant's warrior-like reputation and the Achilles' tendon tear he suffered - and returned from, if in diminished form - in 2013:
The KOBE 11 Achilles Heel features a graphic representation of the hero on the right heel, while the left features four stitch marks representing the four feet of thread used in Bryant's 2013 Achilles surgery.
The shoe is woven through with thermoplastic polyurethane threads, which Nike calls "an evolution" of its single-piece Flyknit technology.
"Throughout my time with Nike, I've obsessed (over) the details of my shoes," Bryant said in the release. "For the KOBE 11, we worked to perfect Flyknit for basketball."