Nike will release the Kobe 3 Protro "Orca" on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 10 a.m. ET for $210 through the SNKRS app and select Nike Basketball retailers, Sports Illustrated reports. The style code is IQ5340-001, and the pair comes in men's sizing.
The colorway was first released in 2008, and this is the first time it has come back. It gets its name from the black-and-white pattern of a killer whale.
Kobe's MVP road shoe
Kobe Bryant wore the Zoom Kobe III for most of the 2007-08 season, and he wore the Orca colorway on the road, according to SI. That season Bryant won the only MVP award of his career. The shoe resurfaced on court years later when PJ Tucker, known for wearing rare original pairs, played in the Orca during the 2024 season, SiteSupply notes.
The design
The Orca is a blacked-out high-top. According to Sole Retriever, which published Nike's official images and lists the colorway as Black/White-Anthracite-Varsity Maize, the build includes:
- A leather toe box
- The Kobe 3's net-style TPU and mesh side panels, running up to the high-top collar
- A white Swoosh wrapping the heel
- Lakers-gold Kobe sheath logos on the tongue and heel
Other outlets list the colorway differently: House of Heat and SiteSupply give Black/Canyon Gold-Varsity Purple, but Nike's official photos show gold accents and no visible purple. Nike's Protro program updates a shoe's cushioning and traction for modern play while keeping the original look. Sneaker Bar Detroit reports that the Orca carries the performance updates used on recent Protro releases, and the heel of the official images carries "ZOOM" branding. Nike has not published a full tech breakdown for this pair.
Where it fits in the Kobe 3 Protro run
The Kobe 3 came back as a Protro for the first time in 2025 with the white "Halo". Since then, Nike has put most of its Kobe 3 releases on a new low-top build, including the "Mambacita" in May and the FC Barcelona collaboration in September, both at $200. The Orca returns to the original high-top shape at $210.
Source: Sports Illustrated, Sole Retriever
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