The Official Nike LeBron 14 Thread. Retail $175

You could argue kids play barefoot basketball so the lack of forefoot is OK but I think it should've been included
 
absolutely not.

what a pro athlete wears compared to what hits a retailer are two totally different things. It always has been and really always should be, can't compare a pro's needs to that of a weekend warrior like us.

My argument is they told me "kyrie needs the court feel" .... clearly he likes zoom over nothing like the rest of us. Kyrie has legs just like mine. With knees and tendons and muscles that need protection for longevity. You wouldnt believe it but some of us weekend warriors can stick our elbow in the rim.
 
In every city in America you will find dudes that can out jump nba cats......weekend warriors dont need cushion tho lol.
This thought that these nba dudes somehow surpassed the needs of the rest of the worlds feet is laughable.
 
In every city in America you will find dudes that can out jump nba cats......weekend warriors dont need cushion tho lol.
This thought that these nba dudes somehow surpassed the needs of the rest of the worlds feet is laughable.

It's not that nba dudes surpassed the needs of you weekend warriors. It's just that they are NBA players. And you're weekend warriors.
 
It's not that nba dudes surpassed the needs of you weekend warriors. It's just that they are NBA players. And you're weekend warriors.
Thats fair but we all know the reason that kyries had no zoom was because they wanted move more kds and brons.
 
Forefoot cushioning should be included in a $140 basketball shoe. If only more people knew that Kyrie himself had full zoom
 
For top level Nike athletes, molds of the players foot are taken and his or her personal pairs are made from that mold.

Of course that process can be different for LeBron than it is for kd etc etc. And...zoom in the heel of a retail version can be exchanged for full length zoom and other changes. I have no idea what went wrong with the 11s

Regarding the lbj line taking a "back seat" to the kobe line...

That's nobody's fault but LeBron and his camp. Several Nike employees including tinker himself have stated that LeBrons lack of interest and personal ownership over the direction of his sig led to the products we see today. On the other hand, kobe had always been 100% engaged and involved with where his sig shoes went.

That's why it seems as though Nike put the LeBron line on the back burner for the kobe line.

That's why the LeBron line seems to have no lineage and jumps around tech wise...LeBron puts minimal input in.

I agree completely. With the Kobe line you felt that connection with the player (kobe 4 onwards). The LeBron line had a different feel to it, there's that disconnect you see in the Kobe 1-3 and most of the KD line.

LeBron's shoes look great, they just need to get back to the feel of the 2, 4 and 8s...
 
Forefoot cushioning should be included in a $140 basketball shoe. If only more people knew that Kyrie himself had full zoom
Not to be a pest but will people stop sounding like Donald Trump on President Obama's birth place and then post info or pics of this so called fact?!
 
I agree completely. With the Kobe line you felt that connection with the player (kobe 4 onwards). The LeBron line had a different feel to it, there's that disconnect you see in the Kobe 1-3 and most of the KD line.

LeBron's shoes look great, they just need to get back to the feel of the 2...

Double. Stacked. Goodness.
 
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It's been posted many times in other threads that the player shoes often have different cushion setups than the ones released in store. Nightwing himself has posted the hyperdunk 2013s that kyrie wore. His were full zoom, the ones in store are lunarlon.
 
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Wonder what happen to the "players needs" back in the late 80s and through the 90s. I never remember Jordan or Pippen needing optional cushioning alterations. Or Penny using something other than the norm in the foamposites. This goes for any player that had his own signature shoes. Other than custom insoles, their shoes were the same. We could argue that style of play was different and players feet arent the same. I dont see it being much different from todays atheletes needing extra tech. Like some of you already mentioned, just put the tech in the shoes to start with. A full length insole of zoom air cost $5 a pair on ebay. Surely if they are bought in bulk Nike doesnt pay next to nothing for them. So a mere forefoot or heel zoom drop-in is nothing.
 
Wonder what happen to the "players needs" back in the late 80s and through the 90s. I never remember Jordan or Pippen needing optional cushioning alterations. Or Penny using something other than the norm in the foamposites. This goes for any player that had his own signature shoes. Other than custom insoles, their shoes were the same. We could argue that style of play was different and players feet arent the same. I dont see it being much different from todays atheletes needing extra tech. Like some of you already mentioned, just put the tech in the shoes to start with. A full length insole of zoom air cost $5 a pair on ebay. Surely if they are bought in bulk Nike doesnt pay next to nothing for them. So a mere forefoot or heel zoom drop-in is nothing.

You just hit it I think. Nike just wants to skimp on the retail pairs.
 
Nike would make a killing if they sold replacement insoles in stores :smh: (lunar, full zoom, etc)
 
this has been an ongoing topic for years. Just sell swappable insoles in store. The catch is they would need to redesign most of their flagship models. Plus they would rather sell an entire shoe than have customers just buy insoles to have that brand new feel.

Again, they know what they're doing.
 
Tbh I don't think that's the airbag, that shoe doesn't have a clear sole, nor can we see the one its ment to have in the heel at all, no doubt he doesn't have the retail version in the slightest but still...
 
Nike would make a killing if they sold replacement insoles in stores :smh: (lunar, full zoom, etc)

Actually zoom isnt a Nike product. They purchase it from another vendor. Why do you think its easily obtainable on ebay? If Nike sold the insoles separately, why would we ever have to spend $100 plus on any shoe with zoom. Im referring to the insoles.
 
Tbh I don't think that's the airbag, that shoe doesn't have a clear sole, nor can we see the one its ment to have in the heel at all, no doubt he doesn't have the retail version in the slightest but still...
I think the front bag in his PE pairs might be bottom-loaded, so it's closer to the outsole and more visible in light-colored soles like that

like what else could that dark spot even be, though?
 
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