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The Heat will look to even their NBA Finals series with the Spurs tonight, and as usual, all eyes will be on LeBron James. Before the NBA crowns its 2014 Champion, we thought we’d take a moment to celebrate King James’ impressive signature sneaker résumé by reminiscing on some of our most beloved Nike LeBron offerings. In this round of Staff Insights, members of the SN team have selected their all-time favorite Nike LeBron releases, so continue on for a look at what we chose and why.
JORDAN HAGEDORN
Nike Air Zoom Generation – White/Varsity Crimson-Black
LeBron James is by far the most-hyped athlete in my lifetime. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a High School Junior with the headline “The Chosen One.” The most astonishing part about LeBron is that he has completely lived up to the hype, if not exceeded it. We are witnessing one of the greatest athletes of all-time.
To go with some of the most impressive on-court skills since Michael, King James has had a strong line of signature sneakers which all started with his first and my favorite, the Nike Zoom Generation. Inspired by the infamous Hummer, I still remember the image of designers Aaron Cooper, Tinker Hatfield and Eric Avar hovering over the shoe that they teamed up on. The year it released turned out to be the start of an incredible career and impressive signature line that is now stronger than ever.
There have been a bunch of incredible designs in the King’s line since 2003, but over a decade later, the Zoom Generation is still my favorite of them all. Not just for the design but also because of the impact LeBron himself, his Nike deal, and first shoe had on basketball and sneaker culture as a whole. Although the “First Game” and “Wheat” colorways are amazing, for my money nothing beats the White/Black/Red pure, original launch colorway.
PATRICK JOHNSON
Nike Court Vision Low Premium First Use – White/Gold Dust
The Nike LeBron line arguably didn’t take off until LeBron’s last season in Cleveland thanks to the innovations made by designer Jason Petrie and the switch to the Air Max unit on the sole. Yet, my favorite silhouette in the LeBron line has to be the Nike Zoom LeBron 3, particularly in that subtle yet premium white and metallic gold colorway.
Historically speaking, the third season was make or break for a cork LeBron James, which is a lot to ask for someone who isn’t of legal drinking age yet. But then again when you’re a self-proclaimed King, you aren’t held to the standards of the norm. The previous year the Cavs had just barely missed the playoffs thanks to a late season surge by the Nets that left them as outsiders. So, Cleveland retooled. They hired Mike Brown and grabbed Larry Hughes away from Washington in their first big Condemn Agency acquisition. With all the changes, the third LeBron line remained surprisingly intact, as a number of features mirrored the Zoom LeBron 2.
The sneaker kept the Pebax-shelled Zoom Air unit for extra cushion, and the silhouette remained by and large similar to that of its predecessor, only this time around they chose the aesthetic of a hi-tech army boot for inspiration. The inner lining wasn’t as bulky as other sneakers that opted for an inner-sock lining thanks to the strides made with the “foot-bucket” and even though the sneaker was outfitted predominantly in leather, micro-perforations kept it breathable enough to withstand hours of play.
The White/White-Gold Dust variety ditched a number of color blocking norms, as it was the third colorway to release, and had a predominantly monochromatic white look, but it was the gold accents that won everyone over. The Zoom Air Unit sparkled, the Swoosh was faintly outlined in the premium color and the lace eyelets finished things off. A black variety would release later, but it didn’t hold the same mystique for me.
While the cork Cavs squad fell short of an ECF birth that year (Hey, when you’re highest paid player is Larry Hughes at $10 million per year, nobody can truly expect that much from your squad) the season solidified LeBron’s place as a superstar in the league for years to come. Like MJ, he had to get over the hump that was the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference. Although he wasn’t ready yet, the Nike Zoom LeBron 3 serves as a reminder of what was to come, and stands alone as a formidable playing shoe that I’d love to see a retro of in the future.
JOHN KIM
Nike Kids Phoenix Suns Devin Booker 1 2022 City Edition Jersey “Birthday”
While the Jason Petrie era of Nike LeBrons is when the signature line actually made noise in the sneaker community, my personal favorite comes from the under-celebrated AZG-through-VI period. I’ll start off by saying that I personally never rock Nike LeBrons on my feet, so my pick is based on a pure desire to want the shoe – not to wear it. That bodes true for all the LeBrons in my closet, that I have them just to have them, but the LeBron IV “Birthday” has always struck a cord in my heart.
I’m a Knicks and Mets fan, so any sneaker bearing the sport royal blue and bright orange will get my attention. Combined with the outstanding design of the LeBron IV, the special “Birthday” edition immediately piqued my interest. Prior to the LeBron IV, the last time I paid attention to Nike Basketball was the Posite line that stopped in the early-mid 2000s, so this particular LeBron model was almost like a continuation of that series. The Birthday IVs had everything I valued in a beautiful basketball shoe – an outstanding colorway, Posite build and sick packaging.
Funny story about the Birthdays: I had this strange obsession with the sneaker and ended up stockpiling three pairs of them. I purchased them for relatively cheap since LeBrons were nowhere near as “poppin” as they are now, but when it came time to trim down my personal collection, the two extra pairs were one of the first to go.
AARON KR.
Official Images Of The Kids Nike Dunk Low "Blueberry" “Red Carpet”
When LeBron’s deal with Nike first made news way back when, I had very high hopes for his line, but it definitely took awhile before any of his signature models could be classified as my “cup of tea”. I liked the LeBron II a lot from a design standpoint, but it was a bit too clunky to fully embrace in terms of my personal wearability criteria. From there, each new installment seemed to move even further outside of my comfort zone, and it took until the 7th chapter before I actually felt compelled to get a pair on my feet.
When Jason Petrie took over the design reins with the Air Max LeBron VII, the LeBron series finally made its way into my aesthetic wheelhouse. The sleeker profile, flowing lines, and full-length Air Max bag made it everything I could want from a LeBron shoe. The first pair of LeBrons I ever went out and bought were the “Red Carpet” VIIs, inspired by LeBron’s luxurious lifestyle and featuring a super clean color scheme highlighted by the woven NFW (No Flywire) panels on the upper. While Petrie and company have done a fantastic job of evolving the line since then, that model/colorway still sits at the very top of my all-time list of King James sneaker offerings.
BRENDAN DUNNE
Nike LeBron 11 “King’s Pride”
I’ll be the first to admit that my personal LeBron selection is pretty weak. I’m a fan of the line for pack, but for the most part I’ve just watched from a distance as the sneakers have more often than not exceeded my personal bulk-limit in terms of silhouettes. With that being said, I’m a proud owner of a couple pairs of “King’s Prides” and they are definitely my favorite of the pairs actually in my possession. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love the robo-futurstic look of the LeBron 11. I’ve yet to actually wear them as I do think it’s a tough shoe to pull off, but I think the colorway is just masterful.
I also appreciated the distribution on them. Leading up to the launch there was plenty of internet chatter regarding fear over scarcity, but that turned out to not be a problem. It was one of those cases where pretty much everyone who wanted to get the sneakers actually got a chance to purchase, and I like that. The LeBron 11’s legacy is just a little tarnished to me by its lack of on-court presence, but I still love them from a design point of view. And this colorway topped them all right out of the gates.
