Sure, there are plenty of sneakers within LeBron’s signature line that probably aren’t the greatest. They can get pretty big and bulky. Some of the pairs from the last few years look more like LeBron combat boots than actual basketball sneakers.
But there’s still a lot of good there, too! Especially when you look at the sneakers from his stint with the Miami Heat. There are some classic pairs that still hold up today.
We’re going to take a quick look at all of them. Here’s every LeBron James signature sneaker, ranked.
Signature shoe season is definitely upon us. Ja Morant’s new signature model just landed and he’s already wearing it.
Up next? It’s Jayson Tatum. The Celtics forward has already teased the fact that his signature shoe model is coming sometime in the next month and a half. Before Thursday, we had no idea what it might possibly look like.
But leaked images of Tatum’s shoe surfaced online via Kicks Vision’s account and, well, let’s just say the reactions to Tatum’s shoe are probably not what he nor Jordan brand want to see at this point.
Here’s a quick look at the leak.
The very first look at Jayson Tatum’s first signature shoe with Jordan Brand! 👀 Initial thoughts on the shoe? pic.twitter.com/eGBv9mQe4m
Yeah, man. Look. I won’t lie to y’all. These things look pretty weird. However, it’s worth noting that this is a leak. And leaked images almost never do sneakers justice — especially not on the first view.
So while this might not look the best right now, it could look much better once we actually get official images.
With that being said, though, none of that stopped the internet from roasting these shoes.
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The LeBron 20 looks like a Kobe sneaker and it’s perfect because of it
LeBron James has made a career out of reaching plateaus that nobody else can and very few ever will.
He just did it again off of the court in the sneaker world. James launched his 20th signature sneaker model with Nike, which is something that only Michael Jordan has ever done before in the sneaker world. It’s uncharted territory — especially for an athlete without his own brand.
But the LeBron 20 is certainly here. The only thing about it is that it doesn’t look like a LeBron shoe.
James’ sneakers have traditionally been big and bulky, built for a 6’8 250-pound athlete. They’re also traditionally high-top sneakers, too.
But these new joints? They’re low cut and sleek — very clearly inspired by Kobe Bryant’s line with Nike.
We explored how wild this change is and why it actually makes sense for Nike to have made it on the latest episode of Special Delivery. Tap in.
This was always going to happen one way or another.
It was almost a calendar year ago that we saw what we thought was the end of Kobe Bryant’s signature sneaker line with Nike. What we had was what we were going to get. And what we had? It wasn’t pretty. At all.
That actually happened, too. Vanessa Bryant and the Kobe Bryant estate moved on and started their own brand. Nike stopped manufacturing Kobe’s. It was done — just like that.
Until Thursday, that is. Vanessa Bryant announced that the estate and Nike finally came to an agreement after breaking off negotiations last April.
“We’re excited to announce our partnership with Nike is going to continue! I am so proud that my husband’s shoes are still the most worn by players on NBA courts and that the demand for his shoes remain so desired by his fans around the world. With this new partnership, fans will soon be able to have access to Kobe and Gigi Nike product for years to come with Nike donating 100% of the net proceeds yearly for Gianna’s shoes to our Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.”
Not only were Kobe’s shoes coming back, Nike would also be honoring Gianna Bryant with this and the proceeds from honoring her would go to the Mamba & Mambacita foundation. That’s just a slam dunk. We’re also finally getting these shoes honoring Gigi’s birthday.
The 1st shoe to release in the new Kobe & Nike partnership will honor his daughter Gianna, who would have turned 16 on May 1, 2022
“The Kobe 6 Protro ‘Mambacita Sweet 16’ will honor Gigi Bryant. All proceeds from the shoe will benefit the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.” pic.twitter.com/pgT4Ab4s5g
For sneakerheads, Kobe fans and basketball lovers everywhere, this was a triumph. This means more Kobe shoes and more Kobe shoes means more of an opportunity to get these sneakers into the hands of his actual fans. That’s a good thing.
The question is how did we get here? It was only a year ago that negotiations broke off and it seemed very possible these two sides would never work together again.
Obviously, a majority of the credit goes to Vanessa Bryant and the Bryant Estate. They did their due diligence, held firm in their values through negotiations, and continued to build up Bryant’s brand in so many spaces.
She also laid out another major reason in her Instagram post: The demand for Bryant’s shoes never faded. “I am so proud that my husband’s shoes are still the most worn by players on NBA courts and that the demand for his shoes remain so desired by his fans around the world.” That’s the key.
Nike may have been done with the Kobe line. But you know who wasn’t? Some of the biggest athletes on their roster.
Bryant’s line has been the biggest sneaker in the basketball world for a while now. During the NBA’s bubble return in 2020, 67% of the athletes playing were wearing Kobe sneakers, per Andscape’s Aaron Dodson. A number of star NBA players including DeMar DeRozan, Devin Booker, and so many more still wear Bryant’s shoes today despite Nike not being in business with the family. There are so many player-exclusive models out there.
I’m not saying that this wasn’t going to get done eventually. It made sense for both sides to come back to the table at some point. There’d already been too much history built between the two and losing that would’ve been awful.
But there’s no way it happens this quickly without high demand from players around the NBA and fans around the world who still want their Kobe’s.
For that, we should be very thankful.
Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery
A look at Kevin Durant’s brand new signature sneaker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHI7CIebR9A
A strap is something that we’ve seen fairly commonly on a bunch of basketball shoes throughout the history of sneakers.
But the strap on Kevin Durant’s brand new KD 14 is more than a strap — it’s history.
Nike took Kevin Durant’s signature basketball line back to the roots that made it a hit with people in the first place. And they did it with the strap — a simple design concept.
The strap was a prominent feature on both the KD 4 and the KD 7 which are both widely considered two of the best models on Durant’s signature line.
Sykes unboxes the 14 on the latest episode of Special Delivery in the video above. The crew explores the history of the strap and explains why this shoe is more of a milestone for Kevin Durant than a signature sneaker.
Kobe Bryant’s signature sneaker line with Nike is coming to an end after his estate decided to cut ties with the company after contract negotiations for an extension fell through.
It looks like Vanessa Bryant and the estate are going to launch their own independent line at some point down the road. They’ve already filed for a number of trademarks on logos and Bryant’s signature.
But before everything is all said and done, though, we’re getting two more Nike drops.
Vanessa Bryant confirmed that there would be two more drops from Kobe’s signature sneaker line with Nike via her Instagram account on Friday.
Vanessa Bryant confirms there will be two more Kobe sneaker drops with Nike 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Eczvh2Bamw
As far as what they’ll be, we have no idea. One can reasonably expect that the Hall of Fame shoe fans have been waiting on will be one of them and that might come once Bryant is inducted into the Hall of Fame this May.
As far as what the other could potentially be, we have no idea. All we know is that they’re coming.
Hopefully, fans won’t have too rough of a time trying to get their hands on them.
Watch our new sneaker unboxing show, Special Delivery
This time, it’s the Kobe 6 “Grinch” colorway causing the problems. This is the first time the colorway has dropped since 2010 and it was only announced a few weeks ago that they’d be coming on Christmas Eve.
Kobe fans and sneakerheads were all excited to maybe finally get a chance to purchase a pair of shoes — not just to wear, but to remember their fallen idol by after his tragic passing earlier this year. To bring back a bit of nostalgia. After all, this might be the greatest Christmas sneaker ever.
Instead, when the time came, they took a ton of L’s. The shoes were gobbled up by resellers in literal minutes. Fans were highly upset about it.
