Nike LeBron 9 P.S. Elite Prototype
December 19th, 2011 by John K. | 90 comments
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In 2012, Nike Basketball will raise the bar in basketball performance technology by releasing the Nike LeBron 9 P.S. Elite – the second overall installment of the Nike LeBron 9 featuring prime cuts of design concept and performance engineering. While sneakerheads were surely excited for the upcoming release, the $250 price-tag raised a few eye-brows, with the valid question of “Is $250 sneaker worth the money?” rising from the debate. $250 easily sets the mark as the highest priced Nike Basketball shoe of this generation, but the manufacturers are catering to two distinct demographics – the ballers and the sneakerheads. Would either sample group drop $250 on a pair of sneakers? That number is rather tame compared to the high-end football boots, which often run in the $400 range, but in America, it’s a figure we’re certainly not accustomed to (nor would anyone agree that basketball sneakers are ready to move up in price).
Sneaker News first showed you these interesting detailed images of this LeBron 9 shoe back in mid-September, referring to it a Prototype sample (likely the Elite). Now that we know that this is the majority of the structural building block of the P.S. Elite, we can now pinpoint some of the key design features. For one, the exposed and thicker Flywire cables are something new to the Nike LeBron line, but this could be just an endoskeleton of the shoe. Another noteworthy detail is the cushioning unit, which is neither full-length Max Air nor Max/Zoom combo, but what appears to be a full-length, basketball-specific, visible Zoom Air unit. The silhouette of the P.S. Elite is similar to that of the LeBron 9, but gone is the weave-wing panel, which has been replaced by ample Flywire-laden sheets that wrap the heel and up to the ankle. Take a look once more at the Nike LeBron 9 P.S. Elite below and let us know what you think of the shoe. via cork
UPDATE: It has been brought to our attention that the prototype sample seen here is not actually the LeBron 9 P.S., but hopefully we may be seeing something similar a little further into the future.
I'm sorry to say this but these are going to be the hyperdunks for the olympics don't believe me look on nike basketballs facebook
hell yeahhhhhh kickssss
I live in Australia, and this is how much we pay for sneakers over here. Lebron 9's are $240 here and hyperdunks are $180 Most Nikes cost that much, especially the rarer colourways of Dunks and AF1 You guys in America should be thankful this is one of the few shoes that cost this much
$250? For GR LeBrons? REALLY? i got an idea, how bout i give you 3 quarters of $250 since thats whats LeBrons giving me here in miami in the playoffs. lol ;) jk
Wow that was so original. You guys are just pissed because fans don't show up until the 4th quarter, so they only get to see Lebron suck it up (see I can make corny, overused jokes also). GO BULLS!
Did Nike forget about the economy?
this is the Lebron 10....
the shape of it is nice, i like it better than the actual 9s, other than that it looks like lebrons ass cheeks
Looks like some shit Batman would wear.
Just wait til these go on sale. $125 copped for balling. These are uglier than lebron's face.
We all know wat a prototype looks like..so stop complaining. This is clearly not the final product. All of yall comparing it to Foams bc of the price but Foams are uncomfortable,General Release and Overrated. Lets not forget, Lebron has just about as many NBA Championships as Penny does but Lebrons number are better. Im not a LBJ lover Im jus stating real facts. Most of us on this site our real sneaker collectors or sneakerheads. Im looking foward to getting these. Im tired of seeing kids wear retros and pretending they are authentic sneaker heads. There was no text or internet back when I started. U kids have it too easy. Stop complaining. 250 is a price that REAL Sneaker Collectors will pay , not sum young internet searching, name droppin hypebeast. Have most of u kids ever seen Jordan,Penny,Pippen or Barkley even play. No, U could get off ur parents porch untill 2008. Just keep asking mommy n daddy for allowence and save ur book fair money.
Man, I know you had book fairs back in the day, so did I! But, I'm pretty sure these youngsters have no clue what a book fair is! My elementary school had one every year in our little cafeteria.
wtf is a book fair? lol
Totally agree with you homie,If these come out, I am copping these bad boys. Word to big bird.
$250 walking shoes? i know less than 5% ball in their $150+ pairs so i say again $250 walking shoes?
the silhouette is like the lebron 8's in front.
All of you broke-ass complaining monkeys need to stop bitchig about prices all the fucking time, get off your asses and get a JOB, especially you"rosay", always saying irrelevant shit, you probably wear fakes, since you dont get enough monthly allowance money to buy the real shit, you dumb 13year old.
Well I'm geging them stop being cheap
I saw this pic before.....this is called recycling
Batman shoes????.... o.O' Hate em
Hate seeing a new shoe in all black but from the looks these will be trash
hmm no swoosh, no lbj branding... either its just an endoskeleton like the article says or it might be nike id? that would be the only reson to justify the price. dont get all riled up and shout boycott!!!! just wait until the price comes down. notice the trend of starting to see too many generatrions of lines. example im in the OC and i hit up spots in LA and OC and im constantly seeing kobe 5's and 6's. lebrons, carmelos and few retros here and there. heck JB is the worst, i mean you got at least two or three of there fusion lines (since thats all JB is now, a fusion and retro company) taking up floor space. all of em, rose has three kicks on the shelf at the same time, the list goes on and on. you walk into a foot locker or footaction and you hit with a kaleidoscope of colors. is it just me or do shoe walls look ugly in the common spots? damn i sarted to rant. err point being, im always running into deals from previous models so it gives me the chance to be more selective. happy holidays ya'll
another hideous lebron boot shape shoe! just as hideous as the 9's, really dont see what people see in the 9's nor in the elites but lebron dickriders eat up anything lebron!
haha I can see some butthurt kobe dickriders
lebron doesn't want 360airbag, so this IS NOT what it will look like at all
BOYCOTT!!! dont buy these to lower the price...
this is just a prototype..its not the final release...
rumors said that there is a zoom air embeded inside the air max bubble... its like zoom inside then max outside... ill wait for the final product..
tell me more
these are not nearly worth the 250 because theyre a prototype. jus wait till they add lebrons ugly ass name logo all over it kids, then youll see the value LOL . releasing a playoff shoe so early would be funny if they dont even make it (unlikely)
This is a performance shoe, just like the soccer cleats that nike sells for 400 dollars. If they are anything like the cleats, believe you me that athletes will buy them.
prototype for the 10's...its already changed and is different than this though...(rumored)
Nope, Nope, Nope!
you gotta be fucking kidding me right? $250 for some ugly ass shoes. Not even if they were made of fucking platinum would they cost that much wtf
i hope this is a concept. I like the idea but the execution here isn't $250.
*cough cough $250? You serious
i wanted the china's but Lebron 9's are getting a lil outta control now.... And why exactly should i pay more for lebrons than i do for Jordan Retros when Lebron hasn't won ANYTHING.. I cant do it even if i like them ..which i don't
better construction than retroed jordans, evolution of technology in the shoes, and overall inflation man, i hate it but we got pay for what we want...
I would've said ok But what happen to the toe lol
true red VII's get my vote.
i cant wait to see the final product. think about it, we saw the 8's (said wtf) and got pre heats, miami nights, entourage we saw 9's (said huh) and got chinas, cannons, freegums lets wait and see! why judge now.
yea but miami nights and cannons were trash. all hype
#truth^
i dont care if i saw the final product now, im still gonna complain about the price lol.
Where is the nike swoosh...
...hmmm,you're right. It's nowhere to be found.Wonder if? it will stay that way for GENERAL RELEASE?
Uhhhhhhh???
...I can't see myself wearing these with STREETWEAR but I'm sure its a QUALITY BASKETBALL SHOE.
these could be tough
$250 for a pair of Lebrons? Good lawd thats a lot of money.... How about I give u $5 in change and 2 tic tacs....