A First Look at LBJ's Forthcoming Nike LeBron 17

The Nike LeBron 16 hasn’t even been out for a full year yet but the court-ready shoe’s follow-up may be here already. Chinese sneakerheads have revealed closer imagery of the new silhouette, possibly hinting at the shoe’s impending release.

First teased on Instagram by LeBron himself, his 17th signature Nike sneaker sports a higher cut than the previous style, swapping the woven upper for a richly textured fabric that recalls wool. A rear Air Max cushion sits aside a Max Zoom Air midsole, with sparkles on the heel’s inverted Swoosh for extra visual impact against the mostly-muted upper. Finally, the black outsole sports articulated detailing at the forefoot, presumably for heightened grip and response.

Naturally, these photos of the leaked shoe may be samples of the finalized design or even flat out forgeries, as there are slight discrepancies between the shoe in the photos and the pair seen in LeBron’s IG Story. However, there’s enough similarities to raise eyebrows. There is no official release date for LeBron’s latest signature shoe as of yet.

Most recently, LeBron was honored by the NBA as one of the decade’s ten best players.

@KingJames gives glimpse of Lebron 17https://t.co/wbohEavNej pic.twitter.com/ZWRqeUUHLQ

— sneakershoptalk (@SneakerShopTalk) June 15, 2019