Kara Lawson debuts the Nike Kobe 9 EM "Duke Blue Devils" colorway

The Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team shared pictures of their player-exclusive Nike Kobe sneakers.

Dec 5, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Kara Lawson directs her team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

The Duke Blue Devils are the bluest of the blue blood college basketball programs. The Blue Devils have a proud basketball tradition and an equally impressive sneaker history.

Duke is a longtime NCAA partner with Nike, and more recently, they were honored as one of the first Mamba Programs. That designation means early access to sneaker releases and plenty of player-exclusive colorways that leave fans drooling.

On Wednesday afternoon, Duke women's basketball coach Kara Lawson grabbed headlines in the sneaker world by debuting the Nike Kobe 9 EM in a "Duke Blue Devils" colorway during practice.

postseason kobes 💃🏽🐍 pic.twitter.com/l26RQlyQK0

— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) March 5, 2025

The official Duke women's basketball team social media account shared the pictures on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, "Postseason Kobes (dancing emoji and snake emoji).

Then they followed up with a second post with the caption, "Details on the Kobe 9 Low Duke PE." The blue devil is in the details, as this colorway is unbelievably nice.

It features a white Engineered Mesh upper contrasted by blue Swoosh and Kobe logos. Best of all, a white and blue speckled midsole sits just above the black outsole.

Details on the Kobe 9 Low Duke PE pic.twitter.com/UkgSKaTmDu

— Duke Women’s Basketball (@DukeWBB) March 5, 2025

Unfortunately, this is a player-exclusive colorway that will not be released to the public. Chalk it up as one of the many perks of playing for one of the most accomplished basketball programs in the country.

If the past year has taught us anything, women's basketball players (and coaches) are just as influential as the men in the sneaker industry.

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