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Nike Reveals Early Look At LeBron 16 Signature Shoes, Gives Official Release Date

By Nicholas Morine
Published on: 06:25 PST, Sep 8, 2018

After an early sneak peek at a version of the LeBron 16 offered up by King James himself late last month, Nike has finally put forth some official photography along with a release date coinciding with the basketball sneaker’s launch coming up less than two weeks from today. The Nike Lebron 16 is slated to hit store shelves on September 20, 2018, according to SB Nation.

Apparently being offered in at least two different colorations, one black and red — the other black and gold — the LeBron 16 doesn’t seek to overhaul what was a very solid initial design in the LeBron 15 sneakers, instead, targeting a more refined and improved iteration of the previous model. In an official press release put forward by Nike, the shoe company makes the bold claim that this shoe will be revolutionized not by the introduction of knitting as a central material improvement, but also in the form of a lower collar — allowing for a greater degree of movement, particularly lateral movement, but also in terms of an improvement of the famous footbed of its predecessor.

The notion of a new shoe goes deeper for LeBron and his partnership with Nike, as the LeBron 16 fits neatly into his new fashion catalog with the footwear manufacturer, being branded beside “The Strongest” shoe. Focusing on a social justice message speaking to empowerment for black women in America, LeBron’s new shoe for men joins a recent offering of female footwear being sold by Nike, according to Mic. “The Strongest” is a revamp of the previous Lebron 15 shoe, designed by Kimberly Goldson, with the focus being squarely on empowerment. The ladies shoe featured a pure white shoe with luxurious gold accents, complete with power words such as “courage” and “dignity” stamped on the insoles.

LeBron James himself spoke out on the importance of designing high-end athletic footwear for women and why it was important for him on a personal level to participate in bringing these products to the mainstream.

“Being the son, husband and father of strong African-American women, I felt like this was something I wanted to do for them and for all the strong women out there who are succeeding despite what might be stacked against them.”

Though only two of the colorways belonging to the LeBron 16 have been revealed as yet, there is a distinct possibility that a plethora of color options and customizations will become more readily available as the official release date approaches. The LeBron 15 featured dozens upon dozens of different colorways, according to Sneaker Bar Detroit, and it seems almost certain that this year’s style from King James and Nike will follow suit.

The LeBron 16 sneaker by Nike will almost certainly be a highly desirable item starting from the second it goes on sale and throughout the holiday season. Sneakerheads would do well to pick up or pre-order theirs as soon as possible to ensure they end up with a pair of fresh kicks without having to endure the pain of running a gamut of sold-out signs in the coming weeks and months.

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