LeBron James has been in the NBA long enough to see it change comprehensively, having been drafted in 2003, which was before a lot of today’s players even started walking properly. Style and physicality, of course, are the major differences, but what goes along with it are the shoes. And LeBron, with his experience, knows exactly what has changed.
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James, a Nike athlete, will get his latest line of shoes, the LeBron 23, about which he spoke in a recent interview with GQ. It’s designed by the company to, quite simply, “honor the forever King”, who’s set to play his 23rd NBA season at the age of 40 in a few weeks’ time.
The LeBron 23s are designed keeping the current era of basketball in mind, but one cannot help but wonder how much shoes have changed. Funnily enough, when the NBA was supposedly at its “physicality peak” in the 1980s, stars wore Converse All-Stars, which barely provided any protection. The game softened thereafter, became more technical, and the shoes changed along with it. Today, the players need speed, comfort, and protection, all at the same time.
“Twenty years ago, there was a lot more physicality. The game was a lot slower. If you remember, shoes were a lot heavier as well,” the Los Angeles Lakers legend said.
Players back in the day didn’t have many options when it came to basketball shoes. Brands like Nike, Reebok, Converse, and Adidas existed, but customization was limited, and the technology wasn’t advanced enough to fully support the fast-changing game.
Players mostly wore whatever their brand gave them, and features like cushioning, lightweight materials, and injury prevention weren’t common. Today, that’s not a problem anymore.
“You know, now it’s way more up-tempo. The game is faster. Possessions are quicker. So you want to try, as you get a little bit older, to get a little bit lighter. And with technology, we’ve been able to do that,” James continued.
Talking about his latest Nike shoes, James explained that being 6-foot-9 means he needs protection on the floor, while also having shoes light enough to glide into the air and dunk. “So with the outsole, the midsole, the lockdown suspension—we have to lock the shoe in to where I can be on the floor, running at the pace that I run, jumping the way I jump, and still feel protected at whatever position I’m playing.”
Set to release worldwide and at select retail outlets on October 3rd, the LeBron 23s have all the potential to become a bestseller. Not just because it’s associated with the four-time NBA champ, but because the tech is top tier.
A full-length ZoomX drop-in midsole will provide an ‘energy return’, which is great for players looking to emulate LeBron’s explosive style of play. The Crown Containment system offers stability, and the shoes are designed to be light, with a soft-lining.
