LeBron James pays tribute to Akron in launch of Nike LeBron 13 shoes

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AKRON, Ohio — When LeBron James came back to the Cavaliers in free agency last summer, it wasn’t simply a basketball decision.

James has a true connection with Cleveland, and an even stronger one with the nearby city of Akron where he was raised. That explains why the launch of his latest signature sneaker from Nike, the LeBron 13, was held in the suburbs the night before Cavs' training camp was set to begin.

The festivities were held at the University of Akron's E.J. Thomas Hall, where about 2,000 kids and their families were treated to a pep rally of sorts, where they would get to see James unveil his latest high-performance sneaker in a fairly intimate setting. 

Before all of that, there was a media-focused presentation of the new shoe’s features, which took logical steps in moving the design forward while providing an added level of performance. James said the new features weren’t simply a result of tweaking things from the previous iteration, but that he took his entire catalogue into account when looking at how he wanted to see his latest design evolve.

“If you look at all my shoes from year to year, there’s very little resemblance,” James said. “Like, some of my favorites are the 7s. And if you look at the 7s to the 8s, it’s totally different. You know, the 1s to the 2s, and obviously the 12s to the 13s is different as well. We just kind of always like to take little small pieces here, whether it’s the midsole or outsole or upper. We just always like to fine tune it and continue to keep everybody off balance a little bit.”

The LeBron 13 took perhaps the most innovative part of the 12, and attempted to improve upon it even more. The hex zoom pads in the sole were a brand new cushioning system for Nike, and that was where LeBron focused when it was time for the conversations to take place. 

“We figured out a way to take the hex pads that we had from the 12s and make them even more dynamic, make them have even more cushion, make them bigger, make them hit some of the hot spots in my foot that we didn’t kind of tackle last year with the 12,” James said. “When I saw how comfortable the hex pads rolled last year on the 12, I was like, how do we improve going into the 13?  I was like, how can we improve the hex pads from the 12 to the 13? Where I feel even more cushion and lockdown suspension.”

The shoe is also about an ounce lighter than the previous version, carefully toeing the ever-important balance between strength, stability, comfort and support. There are also some strategically-placed Hyperposite panels to provide zoned impact protection, and they’re in spots specifically designed to support LeBron’s game. 

“If you were really able to see the process of the shoe, there’s only really like three pieces to it,” James said. “You have the upper, you have the midsole and you have the outer sole. And that’s really it. You have the shoestrings, but actually, if you take the shoestrings out of it, the shoe won’t just fall. It’s still going to keep its same structure. 

“So there’s only really three parts to the shoe, and these parts to the shoe you see that are very bold, it just gives me all of the lockdown and comfort that I need — in the side of the foot where I do a lot of my turning, on the top of the foot where I do a lot of my cutting, and that’s pretty much how we kind of based things around it.”

The first colorway to release is called “Written in the Stars,” a nod to LeBron’s “Chosen One” status as the game’s greatest player. James has been careful over the years to make a distinction between what is earned and what is given, and his message to the children in attendance was no different on this night. 

“You have to work hard for things in life,” James said. “Nothing is given to us. Strive to be as great as you can today and then do better the next day. No matter what you do, you want to do the best you can.”

The LeBron 13 will release in the states Oct. 10 for $200 and is available now to customize on NIKEiD.

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