The Official Nike LeBron 14 Thread. Retail $175

LeBron's shoes while selling well, do not fit the off court asthetic that is popular right now, so his line really has no appeal to the non ball player. Steph Curry has the attention of the underdogs, and Nike has never paid any attention to them. Jordan is the only thing holding Nike at level, and even his line has begun to lose it's luster due to Yeezy's ability to promote himself. We are a "witness" to a shift in footwear pop culture, and Nike is not as relevant as they once were.

Thing is, who determines the popular aesthetic? Nike is so high up in its own arrogance, they forgot to be the tastemakers. Especially seeing how they had the marketing genius Kanye in the fold and witnessing his potential first hand. Nike simply lost touch with what's going on these days.
 
I personally don't think Champ Packs have ever really been about profit for Nike, because they've never made enough of them to really make a big profit.  To me it's always been about recognition, celebrating an accomplishment of the athlete.  The prior MVP shoes, Champ Packs, for Bron have always been very very limited releases.  They retail for 250 or 500,  then resell for 2500.  Resellers made the real profit on those shoes, not Nike.  For that reason, I don't think you would ever see a Bron champ pack (if released the same way the past ones were) sit on shelves.  Even if it did include the XIII's, they would have amazing packaging, be in a great color, and resellers would pounce hard. 

To me I really don't think Nike was ready for the Cavs/Bron/Kyrie to beat the Warriors. It just looks like they weren't prepared.  Maybe with Kobe retiring and all the effort they put in to his final shoes and the fade to black pack they neglected Bron's chances of winning.  It really just doesn't make sense to me.  Super lazy.    

Company hasn't been the same since Phil Knight left to be honest. They've been trending downwards and they were at this stage in the late 90s, very early 00s when they were churning out grossly overpriced futuristic looking shoes. The key then was that they kept innovating and pushing the envelope while making quality sneakers.

They are in the same boat now with regards the the grossly overpriced shoes, but the problem is that the shoes themselves are super minimalist and aren't really pushing the envelope for anything. Just the same one piece plastic shoes with vinyl graphics that most of you say fit terribly.
 
i agree. the lifestyle line has legs if they want to continue making lebrons out of materials that they say are better "performing" synthetic material.

the issue is, you have to have a good silhouette to start with. not gonna go back and forth on the 11 with anyone, everyone knows how contentious of a shoe it is/was. but, it was not a good silhouette for lifestyle materials.

the X was much better for that purpose. even though in most cases it wasn't executed well. the corks went over well, the denims were ok.

but with the X, as well as the 8 and the 7, so much good stuff was left on the shelf. if we had GRs or just a more widespread release of the 7 hero pack, MVP 7, all of those 8s that were left on the shelf, red suede X etc, we may have a different opinion on this line

@rawdawg34, I think we're in the 30+ category so you remember when we used to have one pair of kicks for hooping, casual wear, etc... I get that Nike's a business and they have to churn product but putting leathers on some Vans type knockoffs and adding wild, lifestyle colours to the GRs is nonsensical.
 
Thing is, who determines the popular aesthetic? Nike is so high up in its own arrogance, they forgot to be the tastemakers. Especially seeing how they had the marketing genius Kanye in the fold and witnessing his potential first hand. Nike simply lost touch with what's going on these days.
Well, Phil Knight is gone, so is Micheal Jackson and a whole slew of designers. Nike has never determined what is popular, the hood does, always has, always will. Pop culture takes its cues from what is considered the guttah'. However, personally I feel that Nike shot itself in the foot as soon as the line about remastering came about, the rise in pricing followed by another lie about the economy while other companies kept their pricing relativly stable, the to top it all off, Nike began to sell plastic as premuim. That's just crazy, bad business with Donald Trump type arrogance.
 
Well, Phil Knight is gone, so is Micheal Jackson and a whole slew of designers. Nike has never determined what is popular, the hood does, always has, always will. Pop culture takes its cues from what is considered the guttah'. However, personally I feel that Nike shot itself in the foot as soon as the line about remastering came about, the rise in pricing followed by another lie about the economy while other companies kept their pricing relativly stable, the to top it all off, Nike began to sell plastic as premuim. That's just crazy, bad business with Donald Trump type arrogance.

Donald Trump arrogance is right.

Being the tastemaker and/or appealing to the tastemakers...we're esentially saying the same thing. But from my perspective, the hood, while ALWAYS influential, has gone away from being originators and trendsetters to mostly adopters. The true tastemakers (entertainers) are indeed from the hood, but they are bought and paid for. Mostly endorsers and not creators. The gutta doesn't have as much influence as it did 10 yrs ago. Social media is the new underground.
 
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Donald Trump arrogance is right.

Being the tastemaker and/or appealing to the tastemakers...we're esentially saying the same thing. But from my perspective, the hood, while ALWAYS influential, has gone away from being originators and trendsetters to mostly adopters. The true tastemakers (entertainers) are indeed from the hood, but they are bought and paid for. Mostly endorsers and not creators. The gutta doesn't have as much influence as it did 10 yrs ago. Social media is the new underground.
We agree! The shift in the hood has become more influential politically tho', #blacklivesmatter is influencing pop culture so much, even Nike who never addresses anything about the cut, had to follow. The movement isn't about style though, and LeBron and his peers have placed themselves smack dab in the middle of it, well at least Kapernick has. Corny self absorbed athletes are no longer in vogue, thanks to #blacklivesmatter.
 
I havent bought a hoops shoe off of looks alone since the jordan xii. 

Ironically it is now sleek toe box shoes the kids love these days.

Thats why it irks me so bad that nike banana toes and strips every retro. 

Its such a ball drop. 

Like I iove the 180 barkleys... the air bag is tiny and the materials, shape and comfort suck now.

They want 180 canadian 
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That was the price I paid for my og ubs (210 $ now tho, adi did a 30 $ hype raise)

Nike is getting bit for playing the games that get played when you have a monopoly. 

Adi is already showing they will play similar games. 

So honestly it would be awesome if bok , ua, brand black etc gained some ground too.

The more competition,  the less we'll get jerked
 
Honestly with Adi making moves, Nike is bound to do us proper. Already saw that with the lowered retail on these and KDs with better materials.
 
This may have already been asked and answered, I haven't been on in a while. Has Nike said anything about a reveal coming soon? The NBA season is right around the corner [emoji]128528[/emoji]
 
I honestly wouldn't mind if they launched it on iD.

It gives us a look at the shoe, they don't have to release anything early, we're happy, they're happy.
 
Our shop got informed by Nike that they deleted all of our pre-orders from this holiday season on the 14s... so its a high chance that we aint gonna see any of the 14s this calendar year. Bad news Fam...
 
Our shop got informed by Nike that they deleted all of our pre-orders from this holiday season on the 14s... so its a high chance that we aint gonna see any of the 14s this calendar year. Bad news Fam...
....and here come the retro's.
 
Hate to see that they canceled the pre orders, I know from experience that usually isn't a good sign.

Honestly, with what we have seen and what we do know, what has Nike been working on?

I feel like a retro LeBron would have leaked online. 

Really curious to see how Nike responds for the LeBron line. This is a really weird period.

I really, really, really, really don't want to see a repeat of the 2013-2014 season where we see him in Soldiers almost every game.

Call me old fashioned, but I'm a traditionalist. I like to see the current sig on the floor by the athlete. Soldier 10 is a dope model, but it had it's moment in the Finals, I'm ready to see what they roll out in this new chapter.

If a retro line launches, how do you guys think they should do it? In line with current releases at retail or online only?
 
That's all it's ever been about. Just give us a great shoe. No elite extra charge gimmicks, no gimmicky tech. Just a loaded shoe, with quality and applicable tech to give it value. Just give a great performer for the actual hoppers, and if you want casual sales to spike ... don't make them plastic or hideously designed like the 11's or 13's. Something people wouldn't be embarrassed to wear. Just give us something truly great again Nike. Just Do It.
 
I think its 60% silhouette, 40% materials. I can live with mesh on a great shoe. I can't have plastic and a bad model anymore.

It's killing the appeal to the line.
 
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