Nike Kobe 8 Mambacurial – Basketball Meets Soccer

How awesome is this Nike KOBE 8 MAMBACURIAL release!

For those of you that don’t know, Kobe Bryant actually grew up in Italy and he is a pretty avid soccer fan. With that in mind, Nike has combined the power of the Mercurial soccer cleat into a Basketball shoe and this is the end result. It is really slick and just goes to show how much soccer is growing in the US that a former MVP would look to wear something inspired by our game. I can bet Steve Nash would secretly love a pair of these too.

On a side note, Kobe obviously won’t be playing Basketball anytime soon because of his Achilles injury, so I have to wonder if this was a release he was going to wear at some point or if it is actually a promotional filler as he heals.

The KOBE 8 MAMBACURIAL fuses key design attributes of basketball and soccer shoe uppers and includes a number of details borrowed from the Nike Mercurial Vapor IX. The striking Fireberry colorway is taken straight from the soccer boot and applied to the Nike Engineered Mesh upper of the latest Kobe Bryant signature shoe. Over sized white “NIKE” script appears on the medial side of each shoe, and an electric-lime Swoosh shifts from the side to just over the toe. “Mambacurial” is notated on the backside of the tongue, and the upper rests atop a grass graphic and translucent green rubber outsole.

“Soccer boot design has influenced my shoe in the past but the KOBE 8 MAMBACURIAL brings it full circle. It’s great to see powerful design come together across sports.” – Kobe Bryant

The shoe is available at select retailers and will be up for sale on Nike.com, June 7th.