Nike Adds WNBA Orange Colorway to Kobe 9 EM Protro

Quick Facts

Nike will celebrate the WNBA with a new Nike Kobe 9 ProtroThe sneaker will use a variety of orange hues to pay homage to The WThe Nike Kobe 9 EM Protro WNBA will be released Summer 2026

It’s no secret that Kobe Bryant was a booster for women’s basketball. From his dedication to his daughter, GiGi’s love for the sport, to his vocal insistence that stars from the WNBA could hold their own on an NBA court, and his frequent choice to wear a bright orange WNBA logo hoodie, The Mamba was one of the biggest proponents of the women’s game from inside the NBA.

Keeping up a tradition of celebrating The W through the Kobe signature line, Nike is adding the same orange from the league’s logo onto a new pair of Nike Kobe 9 EM Protros. In our speculative mock-up, the Nike Kobe 9 EM Protro WNBA adds peachy orange to the engineered mesh (that’s what EM stands for) upper. The WNBA orange hits come on the side panel Swoosh, Kobe sheath logo on the tongue, and the Kobe signature on the lateral side heel. The colorway is rounded out with a white midsole, black accents, and olive green on the laces and sockliner.

Nike has always brought top-tier storytelling to the Kobe line, especially when it comes to colorways connected to Bryant’s life, family, and passions. The upcoming WNBA Kobe 9 is the second orange colorway inspired by the W, following a Kobe 6 Protro WNBA colorway in a full upper of bright orange that dropped over the summer.

The Nike Kobe 9 EM Protro WNBA will be released Summer 2026 through Nike and select retailers in-store and online. Available in men’s sizing, the retail price is set at $190. To keep up with every new Nike Kobe drop, download the Sole Retriever mobile app.