LeBron James Quietly Debuted the NBA's New Official Nike Socks

Basketball fans got their first look at the NBA's next official Nike socks on Saturday night.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James debuted the new official NBA sock during pre-game warmups on Saturday night. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Basketball fans from all over the world tuned into Saturday night's game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Lakers. Every player brought out their best sneakers for the first game of the Western Conference Playoff series.

However, the biggest footwear news stemmed from pre-game warmups. Lakers forward LeBron James quietly debuted the NBA's next official Nike sock.

According to Nick DePaula of Boardroom, James debuted the upcoming new NBA socks before tip-off on Saturday night. Check out the social media post below.

The new sock features Nike's "Unicorn Dri-Fit ADV" design and recycled material. One of the most notable changes is the placement of the Nike Swoosh logo.

The Nike Swoosh logo placement is far more subtle, moving from the top of the front to the middle of the back. This is no doubt the result of non-Nike players flipping over the top of their socks to hide the Swoosh logos.

Nike secured the official NBA uniform and apparel rights in 2017. Before Nike, Stance was the official provider of socks in the NBA.

Last night's socks were just a sneak peek as James changed back into the league's current official socks for the game. However, fans can expect teams to begin wearing the new Nike socks next NBA season.

In addition to changing socks before the game, James changed sneakers. He went from the Nike LeBron 22 "Monopoly All-Star" to the player-exclusive "Electric Pack" colorway, which he first wore during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

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