Nike LeBron 9

About

The Nike LeBron 9 launched in 2011 as LeBron James's ninth signature shoe, designed by longtime Nike Basketball designer Jason Petrie. It was the first performance basketball shoe to combine Flywire cabling with Hyperfuse construction, fusing the two into a nearly seamless upper built to shed weight without giving up support. Petrie said the design process aimed to "break the mold with a shoe that maximized the strengths of a triple threat player like LeBron." Cushioning came from a forefoot Zoom Air unit paired with a Max Air 180 unit in the heel. The shoe rolled out in stages, releasing first in Greater China on October 1, 2011, followed by college-inspired colorways on October 14, the "Cannon" colorway in the US on October 15, and a Black/White-Sport Red pairing along with NIKEiD customization on October 25. The line went on to produce one of the model's most famous editions, the 2012 All-Star "Big Bang," featuring a galaxy-print interior and a glow-in-the-dark outsole, cementing the LeBron 9 among James's most collected signature shoes.