LeBron James doesn’t like wearing his new shoes.
I mean literally his shoes — the LeBron 11s by Nike.
Usually if you have a signature shoe you wear it, and in LeBron’s case when he slips on the shoe it’s a lot of free promotion considering the spotlight on him. LeBron outsells any current player domestically in shoe sales (Jordan is still king) so him the fact he is wearing last year’s model LeBron’s was getting noticed.
LeBron has worn the 11s twice and discussed it Thursday night before the Heat lost to the Bulls, as reported at ESPN.Sources confirmed to ESPN.com that James has had an issue with the fit of the shoe and as a result has been mostly wearing last year’s model….
“I just want to be able to wear them,” James told ESPN.com. “It has been a frustrating process. But obviously, I know that Nike wants to do what’s best. They’re not going to put me out there in harm’s way. So we’re redefining the shoe to fit what’s best for my foot.”
“I could wear them, but they don’t feel as great as I want them to feel,” James said. “So we’re redefining them, and I feel like this next round is going to be perfect.”
The LeBron 11 is “the lightest and lowest LeBron signature shoe ever” as Nike put it. But if he doesn’t feel right in them yet, you can’t blame him for waiting. And you know Nike wants to get this resolved fast and him in his signature shoe — that’s marketing opportunities lost and dollars out the door.
The LeBron 10s must be working for him — LeBron is shooting a career best 58.4 percent, or if you prefer your stats more advanced he has a career best 68 percent True Shooting Percentage. The four-time MVP is having one of his best seasons.
