Not one, not two, not three...but 12? Yes, 12.
LeBron James was at Nike's corporate headquarters Tuesday to debut his new shoe, the LeBron 12. The new line will be his first since returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency this summer.
"I would like this shoe," James said. "But I love it because it has my name and logo on it."
Overhead shot of the LeBron 12s ($200) pic.twitter.com/ZKd2SfLiHp
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) September 16, 2014
Nike unveils the LeBron 12 ($200) pic.twitter.com/v3R54SBjha — darren rovell (@darrenrovell) September 16, 2014
Well, James, you know what they say? It's the shoes that make the man.
The shoe is a colorful mixture of aesthetics and functionality. It is his twelfth collaboration with Nike since signing as a rookie out of high school in 2003. The shoe will retail for $200 when it goes on sale next month, ESPN reports.
James will be at training camp in less than two weeks with his new footwear in tow. His return to the Cavaliers hints at a boost in sales in the Cleveland region.
According to Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes, James was the top-selling shoe salesman in the NBA last year and Nike sold "$300 million of his signature sneakers." This was almost double Kevin Durant's $175 million in shoe sales, the second most behind James.
While the friendly competition between James and Durant continues - both on and off the court - both stars have a long way to go before they can match Michael Jordan's roughly $2 billion total in shoe sales. Despite being retired since 2003, Jordan still sold $90 million worth of shoes in 2013, $40 million more than Kobe Bryant.
James will team up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, who was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves in late August, to form one of the best cores in the NBA this season. With the LeBron 12 on his feet, James will be sure to keep the rest of the NBA on its toes.
