The Black/Gold “Gift Of Mamba” theme first debuted in Christmas 2023 in the form of the Kobe 4 Protro, but it appears that a second straight release harboring the theme will return for the Holiday 2024 season. According to @zsneakerheadz and @brandon1an, the next such release will be the Nike Kobe 9 EM for later this year.
In 2013, the Kobe 9 was launched in two versions — an Elite model with Flyknit uppers, and an EM version aka Engineered Mesh. The EM style was priced lower than the Elite Flyknit versions and was offered in a larger variety of colorways (the EM was $160, Elite low was $200, and Elite high was $250).
Actual photos of the shoes have not surfaced yet, but we can presume that based on the theme and the mock-up pictured below, a straightforward black/gold colorway will be offered. Additionally, pricing information has not been provided.
In other Kobe news, here’s the latest on the upcoming Kobe 8 “Court Purple”.