To LeBron, From Leather

I have to admit that I am about as far from a sneaker aficionado as there is.  Back in the day, we had the Reebok Pumps.  Then the “Shaqs.”  Then the “Pennys” with that cool little $.01 logo stitched on to the back.  And although I love Entourage and Turtle’s $10,000 pair of Fukijamas (“art for your feet”), I have lost touch with the world of kicks. 

And to save the day, we have sites like SLAM.  Not only do they give plenty of info on the NBA in general, but they drop previews of upcoming releases of basketball shoes.  But the fun doesn’t stop there as they also provide open letters from lines of shoes to their owners – at least they do now.  The recent recipient of said memoir from the “sole?” (see what I did there?)  Our very own LeBron James.

With his sixth release coming soon, LeBron’s line of shoes has the following to say.

Maybe we should have spoken up sooner than this. Maybe we should have said something when you ditched the LBJ II for the 20-5-5 when you got to the playoffs for the first time. We would have, but we thought we were back on common ground when you wore the LBJ III through the post-season a year later. Somewhere along the way, it seems like we’ve lost touch with each other. […]

Think about it: your playoff debut, you go with some white and gold 20-5-5’s. Your first trip to the Finals, you wear Zoom Soldiers. This year, the Game 7 showdown with Paul Pierce, same thing. Even the Vogue cover—a fashion magazine cover, man—and you wear your Zoom Soldier II? What’d we do wrong?

And of course, there’s the kicker, the worst date: May 31st, 2007. You go for 48 points, nine rebounds and seven dimes against Detroit in Game 5 of the East Final (see photo – Ed.). You scored 25 of the Cavs’ 29 last points in one of the greatest performances in NBA Playoffs history, ever. And what did you have on your feet? The Zoom Soldier I. […]

That’s like pushing your kids hard through school all year, then taking your nieces and nephews to Disneyland when summer vacation rolls around.

There is plenty of continued thoughts from the Nike line, who might I add is very well-versed.  The subject of weight (which I thought of the first time I picked up LeBron’s first shoe a few years ago) is touched upon, and apparently had been dealt with with the arrival of the Zoom V. 

Of course, the tables then turn to the legacy of the Jumpman himself, Michael Jordan, who was ALWAYS wearing his own shoes. 

Our main concern here is legacy, LeBron. Everyone remembers Jordan at the peak moments of his career wearing a specific sneaker. In ’89, it was the Jordan four when he hit The Shot against Cleveland; in 1995-96, he wore the eleven the whole way through the season. The guy only wore the fourteen once, but it was in the biggest moment of his entire career. Do you see what we mean?

Touché, au sneaks. 

Personally, I’m surprised that this wasn’t mentioned sooner by another outlet.  Perhaps it has.  But given all of the attention surrounding James, many take any opportunities they can to slam LBJ.  Now, I know that SLAM isn’t “slamming” James by any means, but even in the infamous Vogue cover to the King wearing a Yankees hat at a Tribe game – this guy is scrutinized to no end.

I have no isse with James not wearing his shoes as, let’s face it, he’s doing just fine without them.  If he dropped 40+ wearing something more comfortable, then by all means.  I think the onus is on Nike to make something that #23 is more comfortable in on the court, assuming they care what he wears.  If the goal is to simply roll out a new line each year, tweak colors and design, sell them for $150 a pop then fine.  Mission accomplished. 

But if the goal is to ensure that their superstar is always wearing their shoes in any sort of photo-taking opportunity, then we may have some work to do.  We’ll see what happens come October. 

It should be worth mentioning that NikeLeBron.net has the “numbered” shoes listed separately from the “summer/playoff” shoes (like the abovementioned “soldier” line as well as the “20-5-5″*).  Thus, he may actually be wearing his line – just not the one that apparently feels a tad left out and has put its feelings on paper.

*Is it just me, or does this severely understate LeBron’s numbers?  Steve Francis in his prime, maybe.  But James?  How about 30-7-7?

LeBron, Try Wearing Your Shoe [SLAM]