Adidas Kobe II | Unreleased Sample | Size 14

The Adidas Kobe II marked the second installment in Kobe Bryant's line of signature basketball sneakers. Building upon its predecessor, the Adidas Kobe I, the design evolution maintains a visible influence from the automotive industry, a nod to the original inspiration.

Offered in this lot is an unreleased colorway of the Adidas Kobe II. 

Dressed in a predominantly green upper, the pair is finished with a black midsole, black interior lining, and red accents throughout. An unreleased colorway from the original Kobe line, this sample appears to have influenced the color direction of the Kobe I “Mint Green,” which was released in 2023.

The pair features sample stamping on the interior lining and a sample size tag, marked in Kobe’s size 14. The detached sample tag notes that this pair was completed on June 15th, 2001. 

Sotheby’s received the following letter of Provenance from the consignor, a former adidas executive, it states: 

To Whom It May Concern,

In 2000, I was working as an adidas executive at the adidas America HQ in Oregon.

I received these shoes (and backpack, doll) at that time as I was heading up a group working directly on the Kobe Two (and Three) signature range of products. We typically worked with samples (as part of the production process) that either never made it to retail (Kobe Three) and/or were extremely limited.  

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This shoe has cult-like stature in the sneaker world. This colorway never made it to retail and was only made in KB’s size. This shoe has been packed away and stored in climate-controlled environments since the 2000s. They are in perfect shape, have never been worn. They have rarely been shown.