LeBron James Debuted The Nike LeBron 22 At USA Basketball Practice

LeBron James is getting set for an incredible 22nd season in the NBA, and as one of the very rare players to get a signature shoe as a rookie, that also means he and Nike are about to release the 22nd shoe in his signature line — the LeBron 22.

The LeBron line has had peaks and valleys in terms of popularity. There have been some sneakers (and some particular colorways) that have become cultural phenomenons — like the South Beach 8s — but there have also been plenty that have gotten a lukewarm reception. Part of that, for years, was that LeBron’s shoes needed to function for LeBron James on the basketball court, which meant they needed to stand up to an outrageous amount of force being applied to them, which led to some bulky, at times clunky designs.

In recent years, however, Nike and LeBron have recaptured their place atop the sneaker market with a more sleek design, starting with the LeBron 20s, tapping into the the low-top craze. The Olympics have long been a launching ground for new signature sneakers, dating back to the Dream Team, and on Thursday LeBron showed off a first look at the LeBron 22 at USA Basketball practice.

It’ll be interesting to see what the reception is to a pretty different aesthetic, although the overall silhouette is fairly similar to the 20s and 21s. The big Swoosh look is similar the Zoom Freak designs Giannis Antetokounmpo has been wearing, while there are also elements that are reminiscent of the Air Max Pennys.