Boardroom chops it up with the creative team at Nike behind the LeBron XXIII and the accompanying Forever King capsule.
When he first suited up for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, few could have imagined that LeBron James would still be playing in the NBA as a valuable member of the Los Angeles Lakers. As the future Hall of Famer prepares to suit up for a record 23rd season of professional basketball, he and Nike are unveiling a bespoke apparel and footwear collection to commemorate the milestone.
The Forever King capsule is an ode to the milestones accumulated throughout James’ illustrious career. It’s much too lengthy to list them all out, but just know it will be a long time before we see anyone rival even 25% of the Akron native’s feats.
A line of this prestige naturally requires serious efforts by several of Nike’s best creatives; this is where Ross Klein, Jarrett Man, Wil Green, and Libby Muir come in. They worked alongside James to develop a collection fitting for this milestone, which is headlined by jerseys and shorts that celebrate his career with St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, the Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, and the Lakers. Lifestyle pieces include two jackets, a hoodie, pants, and shorts. The sportswear pieces feature premium embellishments like trim finishes and metal grommets, as well as Forever King drawcord clamps, woven jock tags, and lion embroidery.
“A lot of what we do in Nike Basketball is performance-focused,” Mann, who serves as Lead Footwear PLM with Nike Basketball, explained to Boardroom. “We’re focused on making athletes better day after day, innovating for them. But I think from an emotive side, basketball has always been a cross-section between sport and culture. So, as we look at models like a LeBron XXIII, if you are not a consumer who’s maybe playing on the court and looking for the most responsive foam on their foot, there’s an emotive side to LeBron James. The stories that he’s told, whether they’re inspirational, whether they’re groundbreaking on the court, whether they’re just simply impossible feats, those are the things that I think any consumer can have a natural connection with the game of basketball, too.”
From a performance aspect, standout features on the LeBron XXIII to look forward to include, for the first time in James’ signature lineage, a silhouette with a full-length ZoomX drop-in midsole, paired with a brand new Crown Containment System that promises stability for high-force movements. But the shoe isn’t just built for performance — it’s rich with storytelling, too.
Even the 23 colorways tell a tale. The Uncharted launch hue celebrates the four-time Finals champion’s milestone of becoming the first NBA player to score more than 40,000 points. The second colorway, Miami Twice, commemorates the 40-year-old’s back-to-back NBA titles and Finals MVPs, while the third style, The Chosen One and the One Who Chose, is a family affair designed in honor of James and his son, Bronny, becoming the NBA’s first father-son duo to play for the same team on Oct. 22, 2024.
From the beginning, the collection was designed to reflect James’ journey not just as an athlete, but as a cultural icon and community leader. Every detail, including strategically placed Easter eggs, had to accurately reflect his legacy and the values he represents on and off the hardwood. This commitment to authenticity wasn’t just a creative choice — it was a foundational principle that guided the entire process, ensuring the collection didn’t just wear James’ name, but encompass a decades-long story through high-end merchandising.
“I feel like without the jerseys, it would be an incomplete story,” said Green, the Lead Apparel Designer with Nike, when asked about a non-negotiable apparel piece that had to be included. “To think about LeBron’s journey from SVSM all the way through to the Lakers, I feel like if the jersey component wasn’t there, then it would’ve been a miss. But it also would’ve been a miss if we didn’t take the jerseys and run it through a LeBron filter. We had to make sure that it felt premium, it felt luxurious. That’s one thing with LeBron, he’s always pushing us to make it better. It’s always pushing us to how do we make this different? How do we elevate it? How do we make it fit for a king?”
Nike at Its Best
Encompassing all of James’ achievements into one drop is no easy task, and let’s be real: Few of us will ever see another person come close to achieving even a fraction of what he has. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t channel our inner GOAT within our respective disciplines. What’s made the James signature line special for 23 years can’t be boiled down to just the design — it’s the lasting cultural resonance.
Every kid remembers their first pair. Every fan has that moment — watching in awe, growing up alongside someone who’s not just met expectations, but shattered them since his teenage years. We’ve seen countless LeBron releases over the years, but this collection strikes a different chord — one that resonates with anyone still amazed by his athleticism, unrelenting drive, and the ongoing quest to add more chapters to an already anthology-sized legacy.
James’ story isn’t just about what he’s done on the hardwood. It’s about how he’s done it: with conviction, confidence, and with a team that believes in the task at hand.
Subscribe for the biggest stories in the business of sports and entertainment, daily.
Fans and consumers are going to look at this drop and perhaps won’t think about the time, multiple design iterations, and other elements factored into the process. In a moment of reflection, the creative team was asked to sum up that experience in one word:
- “Proud.”
- “Powerful.”
- “Empowered.”
- “Creative.”
And those weren’t just buzzwords — they were reflections of a tightly run operation.
“This team lifted each other up every day,” said Muir, Nike’s GM and Business Director of Global Men’s Basketball, Athlete Businesses, LeBron James. “Everyone brought their expertise, but also inspired each other. That kind of energy is rare, and it shows in the work.”
At Nike, performance is expected. But what sets the LeBron XXIII launch apart is its emotional craftsmanship — how it mirrors the values that have defined his career: empowerment, collaboration, reinvention.
“Whether it’s footwear, apparel, or the stories we’re telling — this collection is about giving consumers that surprise and delight,” added Klein, the Lead FW designer at Nike Basketball. “And when we hit that note, that’s when Nike is at its best.”
The LeBron XXIII debuts in the Uncharted launch colorway in China beginning Sept. 25 before launching globally at nike.com and select retail locations Oct. 3. The Forever King apparel collection launches ahead of the upcoming holiday season.
Read More:
Michael Strahan on the Giants’ Playoff Chances, Building a Business Empire, & More
Abercrombie’s Sports Play Is the Natural Next Step in Its Reinvention
What Liverpool’s Spending Spree Means for the Boston Red Sox
How Tennis Became Fashion’s New Favorite Sport
How Roger Federer’s On Investment Made Him a Billionaire
