Sneaker News Top 30 of 2012
December 28th, 2012 by Sneaker News | 182 comments
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5 | NIKE LEBRON X
LeBron James finally did it. The best basketball player in the world finally cleared that ultimate hurdle, leading his Miami Heat to a championship in the 2011-12 NBA season. All the pressure he’d been through was paying off, with the year bringing him not only the title of NBA Champion, but also that of Most Valuable Player and Olympic gold medalist as well. How do you crystallize such a milestone moment in the career of one of our generation’s greatest athletes in sneaker form? You cram in all the premium tech that Nike can offer in a basketball shoe, distill things down to a theme that reflects the struggle and glory of King James over ten years, and then let it make its debut on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Everything fell perfectly into place for the Nike LeBron X. As alluded to previously, the sneaker was introduced to the world during the USA Men’s Basketball team’s Gold Medal match against Spain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. From there, its journey to retail began, sparking some early controversy along the way thanks to speculation on the various pricing options. Initial rumors had put the premium version of the Nike LeBron X featuring the Nike+ options and the included sport kit at a price of $315, a number which dropped off a couple times ahead of the first release of the sneaker, and eventually clocked in at $270. Beyond this, Nike+ enabled pairs without the accompanying sport kit were available for $200 and the non-Nike+ versions stood at $180.
The Nike design team made sure that consumers were indeed getting their money’s worth, cramming a good amount of technology into the Nike LeBron X. On top of the Nike+ options available, the sneaker also sported a specifically engineered full-length visible Zoom unit running along of the bottom, Hyperfuse paneling on the upper, and Flywire supports intertwined beneath to keep the fit locked down. From an
aesthetics standpoint, the sneaker pulled inspiration from the constant pressure put on LeBron over the years, spinning a diamond theme throughout the design and colorways that not only told a story of perseverance, but also helped to embody the prestigious landmark moment of reaching his tenth signature shoe.
The first pair to prominently showcase that motif was the Nike LeBron X “Crown Jewel” a Fireberry colored edition that planted a crown and scepter graphic on the back badge, no doubt an allusion to LeBron’s royal nickname and the extra pile of trophies he’s recently acquired. The special treatment on that pair even extended to the box, a premium angular gem-shaped casing that held the shoes in their own lush dustbags within. From there, many more precious stone-inspired designs came forth, including the ‘Blue Diamond’ colorway sporting a chilly blue for the upper, the ‘Cutting Jade’ that served as this year’s China tribute with its Eastern influenced graphics, and the black and red ‘Pressure’ directly referencing the obstacles LeBron faces during any given road game.
Various basketball ready models followed and we even saw a preview of the Nike LeBron X at the forefront of a new, Nike Sportswear-led project that seeks to better place the sneakers in a lifestyle light. Yes, folks having been wearing basketball shoes off the court for as long as such a thing existed, but never before has there been an effort in making that transition such a deliberate one. Everything from the daring design to the demanding price tag on the Nike LeBron X showed that Nike was absolutely willing to continue taking risks on what has become the premier signature sneaker line of the last decade. Once again, the final result has become a shining success – all that pressure resulting in one of the year’s most coveted and critically acclaimed sneakers.
THIS SNEAKER IS DOPE!!!!! I WISH I COULD JUST GRAB FROM MY SCREEN RIGHT NOW. LOL!!!
fresh as fuck my niqha
蛋疼吧你
艹 真好看
It goes Rookie Galexy/ Yeezy/Galexy foaM
I like zhe AJ4
can you speak chinese？
@AJ123 不
avapkicks speaks blasphemy. Questions, Answers, any of the Pump series. I know this is only your opinion but damn.
no rookie galaxy
Playoffs 11's or the black cement 4's should of been number one!
i luv lebrons
reebok has never made a good shoe period
You crazy, you not a real sneaker head if you think reebok dont make good shoes@avapkicks
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@Chris Sneakerhead
how much?
Anyone know a levit wesite to buy shoes?
Anyone know a online website for shoes .. A legit website
@xavier987654321 its a few out there but their stock wont b that vast and the price will b super high
nice
I also feel some sort of way that the best release of a signature shoe all year wasn't featured by itself. The KD IV! I dislike every other KD except this one, including the KD V. These were incredibly made, had GORGEOUS colorways, and are the only low top basketball shoes I will ever hoop in because the fit and feel is INCREDIBLE. I can't see how the "Aunt Pearls" or "Gold Medals" weren't on this list representing in their own right! Besides ridiculously limited quantities, and thus leading to huge hype; I don't see how these wouldn't have made a top 15 list let alone a top 30. But hey, that's just my opinion.
Honestly my #1 release of the year was the "Paranorman" Foam. I have copped every limited release and general release foam since 97, and these are the only ones I haven't retrieved; and honestly, it's the one time I didn't feel cheated by either the company (Nike) or retailers as to why I didn't get a release of a particular shoe. It seemed to be an honest and fair raffle on twitter, that gave that patron an extremely well deserved prize for sharing a picture that directly linked to the theme of the product. I submitted plenty of "weird" childhood pics, but understanding that I might not be 1 of the 800 "weirdest" children captured in the world helped settle my disappointment. I haven't even mentioned the craft and beauty of the shoe itself. Next to the galaxy and metallic red it would be my 3rd favorite foamposite. The release was genuine, the theme and idea was genuine and the shoe was simply AMAZING! My favorite sneaker was the galaxy (My favorite sneakers have been foams since they released so I'm extremely bias), but the amount of BS i had to go through and amount of money I had to pay to purchase one pair to actually rock was ridiculous, even though I was and always am willing to do all sorts of waiting, and hours of lines to purchase releases. The paranormans were all positives about a sneaker and it's release, in a world where the "sneaker game" has taken a turn for the worse. It was a huge breath of fresh air on a very recently SUPER HYPED model of sneaker that ranks #1 all time in my opinion.
the zoom revis should have been in the top 1O in my opinion..they were fire!
where the crimson foams at
I don't agree with this list but hey to each their own
Where's the wdywt app SN? Lol just curious on the progress.
Personally i think the foamposite galaxies was the best shoe of 2012 not a huge fan of the yeezys anyway
Amazing pictures that showed off of the little nuances that made each shoe special. Overall this was a good list but I would not have included the Lebron X. That shoe still hasn't found its must have colorway. I can't wait until they announce the Black Friday and Christmas Jordan retros.
For real here. Not brand new but a lil shiny to sneaker blog, release thing. Is there any place like Hanon shop. On line or in our country? Why they do all those great New Balance colorways?
@Tuddy306 You should go back and start over (Kindergarten, first grade, etc.).
Stussy shoe is diffrent. But just in case they gotta slap New York on the back. No hater here I'm a fan of Supreme but enough New York. U dont rule the shoe world. Maybe it's Orgon?
I'm from philly and all but two of Iverson" shoes are crap.
Thebeaner. Is right! His shoes are simply done right. On my shoe list for 2013. Geta pair.
i feel the PARANORMANS was a better FOAM than the GALAXY foams. that slime green on the bottom is better than the galaxys. the green slime smoke screen on the side is dope i mean, the galaxy was dope but i feel the PARANORMANS are better
The Ewings were trash when they were release in the early 90's. hypebeast have made trash popular
@Qubayza ur so right. Slap in the face. These company's think they can re-release crap and cause a craze. They're prob right. I'm sitn in a little row home w/ 18 yrs left til I own it. Has nuthn to do wit bein a knick fan, when I was a young buck I laughed that shoe. Rember bobo's.well they're back in blue and orange
@Qubayza Your entitled to your own opinion, but must not be from NY or if you did you must have lived under a rock back then. When the Ewings dropped EVERYONE under 25 had them back in the 90's. No internet ,no hype machine... just hard core Knickerbocker fans.
@IgotthatFIRE @Qubayza you are correct about that! i had the ewings back in the day and they was the joints to have in NYC! and that buzz came off of seeing people with them, not like how sneaks now a days are constantly pushed by the companies themselves! but to say ewings are trash you are seriously a rookie in this game
props to ronnie fieg tho... He shouldve had most of all his releases on this list....
Think some of the things that go into being on that list are shoes that can leave a lasting impact because of material . Or that represent a trend in the shoe game. For example i wouldnt paint in that Ewing shoe but it does say somthn about todays sneaker buyer and trends.
Nike Flyknit over Bred 11s , 4s , etc ... REALLY?
@WZRDUPSO The Flyknits were just a marketing ploy by Nike for the Olympics. They are ridiculous and only look decent in volt.
@WZRDUPSO yes puto.... flynit is crazy in all aspects with respect to AJ11 bred
@WZRDUPSO wait til u see the technology of that flyknit shoe inspires. Gona b a whole species of shoe w/ that technology. Like hyperfuse is in air max 90 lunar tr 1 , or the lunar bottom af 1 even cole hann shoes. See what i'm sayn. Flyknit gota b somewhere on that list.
Nice kicks
ok so the yeezy got number 1...If we took all the branding of it wouldnt make the list right
how are those lebrons better than playoff 11s LOL
@npt the 11s came out when? the lebrons has BETTER technology going for it! thats why, it's a better shoe to ball in, but as for looks, i rather wear the 11s
This a nice shoe should have been higher
I'm not new at shoes. I am new at being able to comment on shoes. Lets just say no iphones where i was. I dont collect. I wear. The list was big. Sneaker News didnt have to cut alot out. New Balance shoe collabs are incredible. As an oldhead where was air max 95 BB and Lunar Air Force 1. Get that Ewing shoe out there. It was a money project from the beginning. The big shoe companies weren't gona give an aging slow center a big shoe deal. Its a crap shoe. In 10 years if my nephew is paying $400 for Shaq's shoe. I'll wear sandals!
This list is absolutely horrible. Lebron X's shouldn't have made the list at all much less #5