Nike Zoom Kobe 6 Protro 'Grinch' 2020 (CW2190-300)

Nike Zoom Kobe 6 Protro — 'Grinch' 2020 (CW2190-300)

The Nike Zoom Kobe 6 Protro 'Grinch' 2020 is not merely a sneaker — it is one of the most emotionally significant and historically resonant releases in the entire history of basketball footwear. The Kobe 6 'Grinch' was born on December 25, 2010, when Kobe Bryant wore a special Christmas Day colorway — vivid green with mamba-scale detailing — during the Los Angeles Lakers' Christmas Day game, instantly creating one of the most memorable and beloved on-court PE moments in NBA history. The 2020 Protro reissue carries additional weight that no one could have anticipated: released in a year that began with the world losing Kobe Bryant on January 26, 2020, this shoe became something more than a retro — it became a tribute, a remembrance, and for many collectors, the most meaningful Kobe release of their lifetime.

Key Design Details

• Silhouette: Nike Zoom Kobe 6 Protro — the sixth signature shoe in Kobe Bryant's legendary Nike collaboration, originally designed in 2010 and celebrated for its exceptionally low profile, featherweight construction, and the Kobe team's commitment to producing a basketball shoe that felt as close to barefoot as performance technology would allow. The Protro (Performance Retro) designation indicates a reissue updated with modern performance technology while maintaining the original's iconic silhouette and design language
• Colorway: Grinch (CW2190-300) — named for the beloved Dr. Seuss character whose vivid green color has become one of the most recognizable in holiday popular culture. On the Kobe 6, 'Grinch' translates into a vivid, electric green that covers the shoe's low-profile upper in a color that is simultaneously festive and aggressive — the color of Christmas chaos, of a character who begins as a villain and ends as something more complicated and more human. The mamba-scale texture detailing throughout the upper references Kobe's Black Mamba alter ego, creating a shoe whose every visual element tells a story
• Mamba Scale Detailing: The Kobe 6 Protro 'Grinch' features the iconic mamba-scale texture throughout the upper — a subtle reptilian pattern that references Kobe's Black Mamba persona and adds visual depth and tactile complexity to the vivid green surface
• Cushioning: Full-length Zoom Air cushioning — the Kobe 6's signature responsive cushioning system, updated in the Protro version for modern performance standards while maintaining the shoe's legendary low-to-the-ground feel and court responsiveness
• Upper: Lightweight synthetic and mesh construction — engineered for maximum court feel and minimum weight, consistent with the Kobe 6's original design philosophy of creating the lightest, most responsive basketball shoe possible
• Outsole: Multidirectional traction pattern for maximum court grip and lateral stability
• Style Code: CW2190-300
• Colorway: Grinch
• Year: 2020 Protro Reissue
• Original Release: Christmas Day 2010
• Brand: Nike
• Gender: Unisex
• Category: Basketball / Performance Retro / Collector / Kobe Bryant

Sizing

Available in US Men's sizes 4–11 / Women's sizes 5.5–12.5 / EU 36–45. Nike Kobe 6 Protro fits true to size with a snug, performance-oriented fit. For a more relaxed fit or use with thicker socks, consider sizing up half a size.

About the Nike Zoom Kobe 6 Protro 'Grinch' 2020

Kobe Bryant — five-time NBA Champion, two-time Finals MVP, 18-time All-Star, and one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the sport — collaborated with Nike from 2003 until his passing to produce one of the most technically ambitious and culturally significant signature shoe lines in basketball footwear history. The Kobe 6, designed in collaboration with the Kobe team and released in 2010, represented the culmination of the line's commitment to a low-profile, featherweight performance philosophy: a basketball shoe so stripped of unnecessary material that it forced a fundamental rethinking of what a performance basketball shoe needed to be. The 'Grinch' colorway was created for Christmas Day 2010 as a player exclusive (PE) — a one-of-a-kind colorway produced specifically for Kobe to wear during the Lakers' Christmas Day game. Its vivid green, mamba-scale detailing, and holiday timing made it an instant legend among basketball sneaker collectors, one of those rare PE moments that transcends the game itself to become a cultural artifact. The 2020 Protro reissue was planned before January 26, 2020 — the day Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, alongside his daughter Gianna and seven others. When the 'Grinch' Protro released later that year, it carried a weight and meaning that transformed it from a collector's retro into something approaching a memorial — a chance for fans, collectors, and basketball lovers worldwide to own and hold a piece of Kobe's legacy in one of its most joyful and iconic forms. For Kobe Bryant collectors, basketball sneaker historians, and anyone who wants to own one of the most emotionally significant and historically resonant sneaker releases of the modern era.