Nike Kobe 6 FC Barcelona Sample Emerges

A previously unknown Nike Kobe 6 sample dressed in FC Barcelona's iconic colorway has emerged from the archives, tracing back to 2011. The discovery underscores Kobe Bryant's lifelong connection to soccer—a passion rooted in his formative years abroad—and Nike's willingness to explore unconventional team-sport crossovers within the performance basketball space.

Design & Archive Significance

The Kobe 6 sample channels the Catalan club's visual identity through a Royal Blue polyurethane upper, paired with a Deep Garnet midsole and striking Bright Gold Swoosh. The Barcelona club crest adorns the inner tongue—a subtle but unmistakable nod to the footballer's reverence for the sport beyond basketball. The colorway aligns with the club's traditional home kit palette, making the pairing conceptually coherent rather than novelty-driven.

This unreleased collaboration speaks to Nike's broader strategy during the early 2010s of mining athlete personalities beyond their primary sport. Kobe's well-documented passion for soccer, nurtured during his childhood in Italy, presented a natural throughline for creative partnership—one that apparently extended to the design studio, even if the project never reached retail.

The emergence of archive samples like this Nike Kobe 6 variant reflects the ongoing archaeology of basketball sneaker culture, where prototypes and limited production runs occasionally surface years after conception. For collectors and design historians, such pieces offer insight into unrealized collaborations and the decision-making that shapes commercial product lines.

Release Info

Status: Archive sample (unreleased)
Retail Price: N/A
Availability: Collector's market only