John Kim 
Earlier today, Nike announced the release of the LeBron 12 on the NIKEiD platform, officially ending the hold-out of the LeBron 12 launch. This fortuitous announcement came alongside the official release of the LeBron 12 in-line colorways, which starts this Thursday with the Heart of the Lion rendition. But since the LeBron 12 is available now in iD form, we decided to take a slightly different approach and present twelve different concepts of the shoe – all inspired by the city of Cleveland.
We started off with some throwbacks to his first days in Cleveland, but also examined the people and places around him – teammates, landmarks of Cleveland, fellow Cleveland-based pro athletes, and much more. Get a look at our twelve designs below, and be sure to head to NIKEiD to get your own LeBron 12 design completed because they’re priced at $245.
The Nike LeBron 12 is available now on NIKEiD.
FIRST-GAME REMIX
We took it back to LeBron James’ first game as an NBA pro. This photo of a high-flying dunk was taken during LeBron’s debut in the league, rocking his Air Zoom Generation in a packed Arco Arena. We remixed several elements of the Air Zoom Generation colorways, with the gold Swoosh acting as a tribute to the “Wheat” pair.
HEADLANDS LIGHTHOUSE
In Miami, we were taken to South Beach. In Cleveland, let us introduce you to Headlands Lighthouse. This staple of Northern Ohio may not be the sexy landmark that the Miami beaches are, but the waves of murky waters crashing against the natural flora that lines Lake Erie is great representation of The Land. Our Cleveland-born staff member says: “It’s the closest thing to a South Beach that Ohio has.”
ANDY V
The Brasilian Anderson Varejao is not only one of the players that LeBron loves to kick it with, he’s also the longest tenured Cavalier on the team. This LeBron 12 colorway is a tribute to Andy V’s roots in Brasil, with the iconic mix of yellow, green, and royal blue exuding Varejao’s energetic style of play.
GUND ARENA
This era of Cavaliers hoopsdom is best remembered by these white/orange/blue uniforms, which were notorious for their less-than-impressive design. Still, the colorway can’t be messed with, and for one of twelve LeBron 12 iDs we concocted, we paid tribute to Gordon Gund and these so-ugly-that-they’re-nice uniforms.
WINE AND GOLD
As LeBron started a new era of Cleveland basketball, the wine and gold color-combo became the franchise’s new visual identity. This clean mix of white, wine red, and metallic gold completes the luxurious look of the Cavs uniforms of the past.
COACH BLATT
David Blatt’s got some high expectations set for his first year as an NBA coach, but his success with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Euro League was enough to land him the coaching gig. Royal blue and yellow are a tribute to that aforementioned squad, which just took down the ‘chip in their respective league.
MONEY MANZIEL
While Johnny has yet to play a meaningful game in the NFL, the support of LeBron James should give the fellow Nike athlete the drive he needs to success. Combining the Browns team colors with a dark olive green from our U.S. Currency, we’ve arrived at “Money Manziel”.
SEASON OPENER
The Cavs are debuting a brand new alternate jersey this season, and they’re not waiting long; look out for this navy, red, and yellow colorway to be on the Cavaliers backs during the season opener on Thursday, October 30th.
SVSM
This one’s an obvious one, no? We’ remixed the pine green, black. white, and gold and arrived at this sick colorway that represents the SVSM pride to a tee.
HWC
Arguably the most sought-after “PE” of the LeBron catalog is the Hardwood Classic renditions of the Air Max LeBron VII. There were, in fact, three versions of the blue/orange LeBrons, but we’re going with this blue-dominated pair to represent the throwbacks.
AKRON ZIPS
LeBron’s love for Cleveland is only surpassed by his loyalty to Akron. The Zips get the nod in this list of twelve, with black and navy uppers being hit with hit with the energetic Metallic Gold speckling on the Posite panels.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
The Buckeyes are another team that gets plenty of love from LeBron – even after his departure from Miami. During that lock-out shortened season, King James rocked the Ohio State PEs of the LeBron 9, but we think our whipped-up version of the LeBron 12 adds a refreshed look.
