Nike rolls out retro reissues of first eight Kobe Bryant shoes

In the run-up to next year’s release of the newest Kobe Bryant signature basketball shoe, Nike is rolling out a limited reissue of the first eight models of Bryant’s sneakers -- in chronological order at a rate of one pair per week.

The first pair in the Kobe Prelude Pack was released on Dec. 7 -- just three days after Bryant and Nike unveiled the design of the Kobe 9 -- and the second shoe is set to drop this Saturday (Dec. 14). Every Saturday will bring another release until the Kobe Prelude VIII hits the streets on Jan. 25.

One of the coolest things about the program (besides a second chance to buy some long-gone retro styles in snazzy new art-inspired colorways) is that Nike has prepared snippets of video in which Bryant reflects back on each shoe and what the year of its release symbolized to him, complete with a thematic tag. (The whole series, along with specific launch information, can be found at the Nike website.)

The first shoe, the Nike Zoom Kobe 1 from 2006, is re-introduced with a title card that reads “81 pts.” -- a reference to the Jan. 22, 2006, game in which he scored 81 points in a Lakers game against the Toronto Raptors. The sophomore sneaker, released the following year (and whose reissue is hitting the streets next) is introduced with the title card “4/50+pts.,” which commemorates the four consecutive games in 2007 in which Bryant scored 50 or more points. (And just in case you forget, the titles also appear on tags inside the shoes.)

The 20/20 hindsight style commentary from Kobe about each shoe and what it symbolizes to him is pure marketing genius -- a point that was underscored all the more with recent news that a pair of Nike Air Jordan XIIs worn by Michael Jordan in a 1997 NBA Finals game recently sold at auction for more than $104,000, and the entire run of Air Jordan 12s (a.k.a. the “flu series” or “flu shoe”) is coveted by sneakerheads for this reason.

The limited-edition (though Nike’s not saying how limited) retro reissued shoes in the Kobe 9 Prelude Pack ($200 a pair) are slated to continue to roll out to retail over the next seven Saturdays, culminating in the Feb. 8 release of the newest addition -- the Kobe 9 Elite “masterpiece” shoe.

ALSO:

Year of the Mamba: Nike reveals the 2012 Kobe kicks

Bryant on boxing shoes, muses and sutures: meet the Kobe 9

‘Flu game’ Air Jordan XIIs sell at auction for more than $104,000

adam.tschorn@latimes.com