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This past weekend brought about the official debut of LeBron James’s seventh signature shoe, the Nike Air Max LeBron VII. Many of you have been giving rave reviews about the style design since first seeing this sneaker. At the same time, the majority of you have also inquired about special details within this sneaker (see Nike Air Max LeBron VII Performance Review).
During the LeBron James Innovation & Inspiration Tour, James himself fielded questions about his latest sneaker. He touched on areas such as the change from Zoom technology to Air Max attributes, the performance of the Nike Air Max LeBron VI, flywire technology and much more. Click here to view LeBron’s answers and check page 2 for photos. What are your preliminary thoughts on the Nike Air Max LeBron VII? |
Regarding change from Zoom technology to Air Max attributes:
First of all, Ken Link has been my designer for the last years, but Jason came to me with the utmost respect by saying, “I look forward to the challenge.” He said, “we’re going to try and make your shoe as good as you are.” I told him I want you to make my shoe better than I am. I said use your inspiration and whatever you have going on in your mind. I want you to make the best shoe. He came with some early mock-ups and drawings. Then, he said I think we can use a full-length air bag. I was used to small air bags that are seen on Nike Air Max’s, but I was like let’s try it. As the drawings continued to evolve, this is what happened.
In reference to the performance of? the Nike Air Max LeBron 7:
I’ve wear-tested the Air Max LeBron 7 and it felt great. I think I can definitely go out there on a NBA court and get it done. But I haven’t played a game yet, so I don’t know compared to the VI, the V, the IV, the III and on down the line. But the wear testing in them felt unbelievable. The Air bag and the Flywire and everything else just feels great. I look forward to getting out on a NBA court and playing at a high level in the shoes.
LeBron James’s flywire technology thoughts:
It’s simple, at least for the people that deal with it a lot. Flywire makes the shoe light. With me having a lot of wear and tear throughout the course of the NBA season, the lighter the better. The full length Air bag gives it that comfort throughout the whole foot. When I say whole foot, I’m meaning not just the back or the front. The technology we have at Nike has given us options and a way to create a design that we’re going to see on a lot of upcoming sneakers.
On past and future of Air Max technology:
“There’s new technology every year. We try to exploit and see if we can use it in my shoe. We had an opportunity to put a full-length air bag, and I was like wow! Let’s do it. I grew up with the Air max 95 and other Air Max’s which had small air bags in the back. So now, I have it in my basketball shoe. I’m prepared for war and prepared for combat.
Inspirations for future Air Max Lebron VII colorways?
My inspirations run very deep. Growing up inner city of Akron, Ohio, you have a lot of aspirations and dreams. To bring life in a pair of shoes and apparel means a lot to me. We have a 10 city tour coming soon across America, China and Europe. You will get a chance to see some of my inspirations in shoes and apparel. It comes from the heart, so I’m looking forward to it.
Regarding the shoe debut in Akron, Ohio:
It’s big. It’s huge. Its good to be back at home in Akron, OH. The fact that we have this launch here is great.