Lakers News: The Latest On Nike's New LeBron James Sneaker
As we teased recently, the 20th signature shoe of All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers immortal LeBron James is scheduled to be released by Nike this fall. A fresh press statement from the iconic Beaverton, Oregon-based sportswear brand has shed further light on LBJ's latest kicks.
The new shoe will officially be called the "LeBron XX," and its first "colorway" pattern is set to arrive to outlets next Thursday, September 29th.
The shoe's "Time Machine colorway" pattern will be the first installment of the LeBron XX to hit retailers. This model is reportedly set to double as both a look back at the 18-time All-Star's illustrious sneaker past, as well as a look forward as the Nike team decides to use the shoes "to celebrate the next 20 years for LeBron," said Nike’s Senior Footwear Designer for Men’s Basketball Jason Petrie, per ESPN's Nick DePaula. The sneakers mark the first time in the history of LBJ's signature shoe line that the Chosen One will be rocking low tops to start a shoe line.
The LeBron XX is set to be the lightest shoe yet in James's signature sneaker line, with impact protection maximized thanks in part to its Air Zoom Turbo forefoot unit and a 13 mm Zoom Air unit in the heel.
Nike will be issuing other color patterns during the holiday season this year. Reportedly, there will be an all-pink version of the shoe (as seen during some Drew League contests earlier this offseason), a "Violet Frost" that incorporaes traditional Lakers colors, and a black-and-gold mesh sneaker apparently intended to pay tribute to James's first championship 10 years ago.
“The stitched tag inside the tongue says, ‘Designed and Engineered to the Exact Specifications of the Next Generation.’" Petrie is quoted as saying in the press release. "We took that line seriously as we designed the shoe. We had players like LeBron’s sons Bronny and Bryce in mind. We wanted to get in their heads and learn about what young players were looking for.”
Should Bronny, 17, and Bryce, 15, eventually go pro (Bronny, a high school senior, is projected to be a potential late-first round or second-round draft pick), perhaps they will keep the sneaker lineage alive well into the next couple decades.
