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When LeBron James signed a 7-year endorsement deal with Nike worth a monumental $90 Million dollars — all before playing a single pro game and at the age of 18 — there was never a doubt that he wouldn’t have his own signature shoe for day 1 of his rookie season.
As you can imagine, Nike’s trio of designers pegged for the project, which included only three of their most accomplished designers in company history — Tinker Hatfield, Eric Avar and Aaron Cooper — were working overtime during the spring and summer of 2003 to finalize Bron’s first shoe, the Air Zoom Generation.
During that process, several samples with varying overlays, logo placements and outsole designs were created along the way, like this all-black size 9 weartest pair that recently popped up on eBay.
Differences from the release version include a smaller Swoosh along the quarter, “LeBron” lettering visible on the chrome heel counter, a more sloping collar silhouette height and a fully exposed carbon fiber midfoot shank.
The seller’s asking price? A cool $20,000 large.
If you’re looking for a piece of sneaker history to add to your collection, and can throw down the price of a car for the Hummer-inspired signature sample, feel free to hit that “BUY IT NOW” tab over on eBay.
