Nike Kobe 5 Protro Eggplant: 2024 Preview and 2025 Update

2024-05-07

Archive note: First published . This page originally discussed a rumored Kobe 5 Protro Eggplant colorway using early reference imagery. Nike subsequently announced the Kobe 5 Protro Year of the Mamba in January 2025.

Editorial context updated . The original publication date and images are retained.

Beetsneakers logo with a white sneaker inside a red beet on a black banner
Early Kobe 5 Eggplant preview rendering close-up showing a gold Swoosh against purple side panels

Nike Kobe 5 Protro Year of the Mamba — Eggplant

Nike’s January 7, 2025 newsroom announcement identifies Eggplant as the launch colorway and schedules global availability for January 9, 2025. Nike’s SNKRS listing names the model Kobe V Protro Year of the Mamba and gives the style reference IB4481-500. Sources: Nike: Year of the Mamba announcement, January 7, 2025 and Nike: Kobe V Protro Year of the Mamba, Eggplant.

Original preview rendering

The following image was labeled a rendering for reference in the May 2024 article. It is kept as an early concept reference, not proof of the final retail design or a Beetsneakers QC photograph.

Side-profile Kobe 5 Eggplant early preview rendering with a gold Swoosh and black midsole

Original Electric Purple comparison

The original article labeled this next image “OG Electric Purple (2010)” as a comparison. That is its archived caption, not a new verification of the photographed pair’s provenance.

Purple Kobe 5 side-profile comparison image labeled OG Electric Purple 2010 in the original article

Nike’s descriptions concern the official retail shoe. They do not establish the cushioning, material composition or basketball performance of a replica.

Related Beetsneakers information

Kobe replica sneaker collection.

Beetsneakers lists replica footwear. Historical brand announcements and reference images do not establish the materials, performance or authenticity of a replica. For the actual pair prepared for an order, use our pre-shipment QC photo guide.