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King James’ Rise & Fall
LeBron James entered the year just a few days after his 25th birthday as the reigning MVP, leading his Cleveland Cavaliers to the best record in the East. His shoes were a hot seller in both inline and limited colorways, with his Dunkman franchise being one of the most sought after shoes of the first half of 2010. Unfortunately for LeBron, his public opinion fell to and all time low that I doubt anyone could have ever imagined.
Free agency had been talked about for a couple seasons with LeBron James but things heated up (no pun) following his team’s early exit from the Playoffs. ? His off-season decision (I swear I’m not trying to make puns) to team with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh made him the most hated man in Cleveland as well as strongly disliked just about everywhere else except South Florida. ? Analysts, insiders, and even Hall of Famers were very critical of LeBron’s method of announcing who he would play for the following season. This high rate of disapproval did not help the sell through rate of his shoes either. ? The LeBron Soldier IV, though the most technically advanced of the series, did not move like prior models and the LeBron 8 got off to a slower start for inline colorways compared to the LeBron VII.
Before the season started, Nike released a 90 commercial featuring LeBron James asking the public what he should do, giving a variety of scenarios. ? A bold statement to the critics, that resonated as a viral video with more than 4.5M online views.
A special “South Beach” colorway of the LeBron 8 generated much excitement around the web and across the country, sending sneaker enthusiasts into chase mode. LeBron’s performances in marquee and heavily televised games have started to bring up public approval as well as sales rates for the LeBron 8 at retail. A Christmas edition also released and saw very healthy sales giving some good hope for the New Year.
The New Year should help bring LeBron a fresh start and a cleaner slate to build from. His personal performance, appearances on ESPN’s highlights, and leading the Heat to victory, are all things that will help the sale of his shoes, not to mention the great design and colorups coming from Nike Basketball camp. Without a doubt, the best thing that could happen for the two time defending MVP would be an NBA Championship – the reason he took his talents to South Beach.
