The shoe that honors LeBron James, Rich Paul, Maverick Carter, and Randy Mims will hit shelves in 2023.
Paying homage to LeBron James and his stable of friends-turned-business-peers, the Nike Air Force 1 Low “Four Horsemen” is finally coming to sneaker stores. The shoes, once made exclusively for the men themselves, celebrate James, Rich Paul, Maverick Carter, and Randy Mims.
As Brendan Dunne reported on The Complex Sneakers Podcast, the PE pair will release to the world in 2023.
Coming on the heels of the Air Force 1’s 50th anniversary and coinciding with LeBron’s 20th anniversary with Nike, it’s unclear just which color block will hit shelves.
During 2004 and 2005, promo pairs of the “Four Horsemen” Air Force 1 graced those horsemen’s feet in white leather.
A St Vincent-St Mary’s makeup scored select iterations while others offered a Cleveland Cavaliers color scheme. An almost “Miami Vice” style also appeared, perhaps foreshadowing a future move.
Since then, all four friends have ascended their industries together. Notably, LeBron lives as one of the game’s greats, set to top the NBA All-Time Scoring List this season on the court while becoming a billionaire off of it.
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Collectively, the Four Horsemen have launched Klutch Sports Group, SpringHill Entertainment, LRMR, I Promise School, and much more. The quartet of Ohioans has epitomized squad goals by staying connected through success while dominating in the arenas of sports, fashion, entertainment, education, and philanthropy.
Their exclusive Air Force 1s provided one of the first brand-backed nods of notice. Even without reaching retail, each sneaker carried a chess piece embroidery on the heel as an homage to the crew.
Not long ago, it felt like the tide was turning on availability. In 2017, LeBron teased an updated homage to the original. Dressed in white alongside the brand’s 35th Anniversary AF1 campaign, James wore them on Instagram, but they never reached shelves.
Since then, Nike has released the Four Horsemen theme at retail via the LeBron 15 and 16. With the recent release of the Nike LeBron 20 and the upcoming anniversary of his two decades with the Swoosh, one would expect numerous celebratory homages to the King to be released at retail in new and retro fashion both this year and next.
The first “Four Horsemen” AF1 is due to hit retail in April, according to Complex, Internal imagery on line sheets suggests it will be the SVSM colorway, though nothing is confirmed.
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