Key Points
- Brunson's Nike Kobe 5 Protro "NY vs NY" PE moves to a public release this summer at $190.
- Style code IX1200-300, in a Menta, Blue Glow and Orange Horizon colorway.
- The shoe debuted on Brunson during the Knicks' Eastern Conference Finals run.
- It is part of Nike Basketball's annual "NY vs NY" series.
The shoe Jalen Brunson laced up during the Knicks' playoff run is becoming a shoe you can buy. His Nike Kobe 5 Protro "NY vs NY" player exclusive — first seen during the Eastern Conference Finals comeback over Indiana — is heading to a wider release this summer at $190.
The colorway
Style code IX1200-300, the pair runs a Menta, Blue Glow, and Orange Horizon palette: a bright mint-green base that reads like the oxidized copper of the Statue of Liberty, finished with summery orange and blue accents. It is loud in the way a New York summer shoe should be.
What "NY vs NY" means
The name is not decorative. "NY vs NY" is the banner Nike Basketball uses for its New York-rooted releases, drawing on the city's streetball lineage. Pinning it to Brunson — the Knicks' point guard and the most popular athlete in the city right now — is the cleanest possible fit.
From PE to public
Foot Locker shock-dropped a small run from a truck touring New York City on June 8, hitting Harlem, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn ahead of the broader release. Brunson is not a Nike signature athlete, so a public Kobe PE is its own statement: the brand betting that the Knicks' guard moves product on the strength of the city behind him.
Why it lands
The Kobe line remains the most-requested catalog in basketball, and tying it to Brunson and New York is clean math. A mint-green Kobe with Brunson's name on the run will not sit, in New York or anywhere else.
Source: Sneaker Bar Detroit, WWD
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