A Complete Footwear History of Kobe Bryant vs. Kevin Durant Matchups

Black Mamba vs. Durantula.

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Image via Complex Original
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Today two of the best players from The Western Conference face-off — KB and KD. It's been a while since we've seen two players score so effortlessly on a nightly basis and especially in big games. As coincidence has it, they're both signed to The Swoosh. Kobe has been down with the brand for almost a decade but his kicks didn't really start ringing out until about the time Durant entered the league. Who has had the better sneaker heat in battle? Check out The Complete Footwear History of Kobe Bryant vs. Kevin Durant Matchups and let us know in the comment section.

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November 27, 2007

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Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K4 PE vs. Nike Vis Air Sweet

It feels like forever ago when KD was rocking Sonic green and in his first face-off against Kobe he donned the Vis Air Sweets while KB took it back to the Huarache 2K4 PEs. Like a true vet, Bryant took over the game and showed the young superstar how it goes down in the league and those PEs would beat out just about anything — sorry, kid. 

January 14, 2008

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Nike Zoom Kobe III "Black Mamba" vs. Nike Flight Skool PE

This time KD broke out the player edition sneakers for their second meeting, but Kobe killed it in the all-black Kobe IIIs dropping 48 points and helping slight the Sonics by two. Again, we have to give the nod to Kobe. 

March 21, 2008

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Nike Flight Skool PE vs. Nike Zoom Kobe III "Home"

It didn't take long for the basketball Rev Kev to match the former MVP with his player on the court and sneaker heat. The Flight Skool PEs aren't the strongest kicks but the Kobe III "Home" edition left something to be desired — we gotta go with Durantula. 

February 10, 2009

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Nike Zoom Kobe IV  vs. Nike KD I "Away" 

The 2008 - 2009 season, Durant immortalized himself amongst sneaker Gods by getting the nod for his own signature line. The sneakers were a dope new take by Nike's Baskteball line and his play was matching Kobe damn near point-for-point, but when The Swoosh unveiled the Kobe IV they changed the whole game. 

February 24, 2009

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Nike KD I "Away" vs. Nike Zoom Kobe IV "Del Sol" 

Kobe and the Lakers were still too much for OKC even with KD almost posting a triple-double and Kobe continued to take the edge with the low-cut IVs. 

March 24, 2009

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Nike Zoom Kobe IV "Del Sol" vs. Nike KD I 

For the first time Kevin Durant had out performed Kobe on the floor and his shoes were pretty ill too. The white midsole on the outside of the foot transforming to the orange accents from the Thunder's jerseys on the inner-part was an underrated move, just like the first KD sig shoe.

November 3, 2009

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Nike KD I vs. Nike Zoom Kobe IV "Black/Metallic Gold/Concord"

Early in the 09-10 season KD and KB were still rocking last year's model on the court. The Kobe IV was just better than the KD I in all aspects, it's just different. 

November 22, 2009

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Nike KD I vs. Nike Zoom Kobe IV "White/Grey"

Another game and another loss for the Thunder taking on Kobe and his squad but the neutral home kicks for Bryant has never been his best look, at least KD Trey-Five got the sneaker battle on this one. 

December 22, 2009

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Nike Zoom Kobe IV "White/Grey" vs. Nike KD II "Away" 

The white and grey Kobes have never been as neck-breaking as his other colorways and stacked up against Nike's improvements on the KD II, you gotta take Durant's strapped-up second model. 

April 18, 2010

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Nike KD II vs. Nike Zoom Kobe V "Home"

In Bryant and Durant's first time meeting up in the playoffs, people knew the young and athletic Thunder team would give The Lake Show fits — but playoff experienced prevailed on the floor and sneaker designs. 

April 20, 2010

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Nike KD II vs. Nike Zoom Kobe V "Home"

Game two at The Forum yielded the same results on the floor and between the two superstars sneaker battle. 

April 22, 2010

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Nike KD II vs. Nike Zoom Kobe V "Playoff"

Durant finally got the "W" over Kobe and crew but the Black Mamba's playoff joints were still way better than anything KD had pulled out at this point. 

April 24, 2010

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Nike Zoom Kobe V "Playoff" vs. Nike KD II

Kobe struggled on the court only scoring 12 points in a road loss at OKC but the "Playoff" Vs still trumped KD's nurse-white home kicks. 

April 27, 2010

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Nike Zoom Kobe V "Home" vs. Nike KD II

Another less than stellar performance from Kobe in L.A. but the Lakers still defeated the Thunder and Bryant's sneaker game was still the best on the court. 

April 30, 2010

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Nike Zoom Kobe V "Playoff" vs. Nike KD II

The Lakers finally knocked out OKC in six games with a 95-94 win and the Black Mamba swept Durant in all six games of their first playoff battle. 

January 17, 2011

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Nike Zoom Kobe VI "MLK" vs. Nike Zoom KD III "MLK"

in 2011 number 35 and 24 met up on MLK Day featuring sneakers on their feet inspired by the movement. Kobe and Kevin both played to their potential and Nike executed the shoes perfectly, this one was a draw. 

February 27, 2011

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Nike Zoom Kobe VI "Purple Gradient" vs. Nike KD III "Home"

The Kobe VI showed Nike's creativity — the silhouette shared almost identical design cues as his last two signature kicks but The Swoosh incorporated some dope concepts to help the line stand out. In a game at OKC, Kobe rocked a pair of gradient away kicks that had sneaker blogs going crazy over Bryant's purple kicks. 

April 10, 2011

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Nike Zoom Kobe VI "Black/White/Del Sol" vs. Nike Zoom KD III

Durant and Bryant went nearly blow-for-blow both scoring 31 but OKC's supporting cast came up bigger helping the Thunder sneak a win out of L.A. Durant went with a black, blue, and orange pair of his third model edging hom over KB's black and white sixes. 

March 29, 2012

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Nike Zoom KD IV PE vs. Nike Zoom Kobe VII "White/Del Sol/Concord"

Another meeting between two of the league and Nike's biggest stars — Durant took the floor in a pair of exclusive IVs for the the battle at The Forum, topping Kobe's home court kicks. 

April 22, 2012

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Nike Zoom Kobe VII "White/Purple" vs. Nike Zoom KD IV "Black/White/Royal"

Durant went off for 35 but the Thunder lost on the road and Kobe's home-court advantage extended to the footwear. 

May 14, 2012

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Nike Zoom KD IV PE vs. Nike Zoom Kobe VII PE 

Durantula and the Mamba faced-off in the playoffs again last year and with Nike cooking-up crack consistently for the superstars it was only appropriate to lace them in some PEs to kick of the series. KD took the first win at home but Kobe's black and yellow player exclusives were crazy. 

May 16, 2012

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Nike Zoom KD IV PE vs. Nike Zoom Kobe VII "Black/Purple"

In game two Durant stuck with the same white playoff player exclusives but KB's change to the black and purple kicks didn't live up too the hype of his game one sneakers — Durant. 

May 18, 2012

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Nike Zoom KD IV PE vs. Nike Zoom Kobe VII PE

Kobe was on the court killin' it like he was 25 again but Nike's black and orange PEs for KD went a little harder, such disrespect in the house that Kobe built. 

May 19, 2012

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Nike Zoom Kobe VII "Cheetah" vs. Nike Zoom KD IV PE

Bryant wasn't having much success in his newly acquired playoff joints so he took it back to the Christmas debuted "Cheetah" VIIs that had even non-sneakerheads paying a couple bills to get their hands on a pair. 

May 21, 2012

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Nike Zoom Kobe VII "Poison Dart Frog" vs. Nike Zoom KD IV PE 

As if Kobe's mentality didn't mess with people's heads enough on the floor, The Swoosh connected Kobe with a Rorschach test influenced design — so sick. 

January 11, 2013

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Nike Zoom Kobe 8 "Home" vs. Nike KD V "Away"

Kobe Bryant's soccer-influenced low-cut kicks have been killing it for half a decade. Durant slayed his foes dropping 42 but Kobe gets the nod with the home version of his latest jawns. 

December 7, 2012

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Nike Zoom Kobe VII iD vs. Nike KD V "Home"

A few people got pretty hype on the KD IV and felt the brand took a step back with the Vs. The home-version of Durant's new model looked fresh with the Thunder's uniforms and Durant's 36 and 19 performance in front of his home crowd.