Hard to believe that LeBron James’ signature sneaker line is 17 years old. There are high school basketball players that weren’t even born when King James’ first signature shoe released back in 2003. LeBron is second only to Michael Jordan in the amount of signature models his personal line has eclipsed (34 and 17 respectively). It’s always a rare occurrence for a rookie in the NBA to have their own shoe, but Nike was all in on their 18-year-old, $90 million dollar man.  LeBron’s first shoe was dubbed the “Air Zoom Generation” as opposed to the expected “Nike Lebron 1.” This was most likely in part due to LeBron being seen as a “once in a generation” talent. However, once the second LeBron model was released in 2004, Nike and James went with the traditional numbering and naming system, calling it the Nike Zoom Lebron II. Models 1-6 in LeBron James’ line were pretty well received and could always be seen on-court repeatedly. It wasn’t until the LeBron VII that the line really took off, thanks to designer Jason Petrie. Petrie blended new technology with traditional materials to flawlessly create possibly the greatest looking shoe in the Nike LeBron line. With leathers, suedes, patent leather, flywire technology, and a full-length Air Max bag, the LeBron VII had on-court performance, but also off-court appeal. This was perhaps the first time in the LeBron line’s history that you could style the signature model casually for the streets, but not miss a step lacing them up for the court.

Jason Petrie would keep this momentum up and go on to make sure-fire hits with the Lebrons VIII, IX, and X. The Nike LeBrons 7-10 dominated the hype waves of the early 2010’s, and rightfully so. Nike basketball shoes were hot, and Jason Petrie knew how to deliver. The partnership between LeBron and Jason worked so well, that Petrie has designed every model since the 7. Some models are obviously more liked than others, but it is a tall task to design shoes made for a player 6’9″ and 250 lbs. LeBron’s most recent model, the XVII’s, have received high praise overall and achieved a mass appeal both on-court and off. There’s no telling just how much longer Nike will have Jason Petrie designing LeBron’s signature shoes, but there always seems to be a buzz surrounding what the next iteration in the line will look like.

We at Sneaker Reporter didn’t want to just show LeBron James’ signature line 1-17, we wanted to challenge ourselves. We compiled a list ranking the best-looking LeBron silhouettes (ranked between all 17 models). This list has nothing to do with how the shoes perform on-court, strictly with how the shoes look aesthetically. I’m a Lebron collector myself and just let it be known that the Top 5 in this list can change on any given day, there’s really no right or wrong order. We only included the base models of the signature line, so no low tops, post season versions, or “Elite” versions. Additionally, and probably most importantly, each shoe on the list is the debut model and/or part of the initial first run of colorways. No samples, player exclusives, friends and family versions, etc. will be shown here (we’ll save those for another article). We wanted each colorway shown to match the current team Lebron was on and be attainable for a consumer to buy (for the most part). Scroll through to see which Lebron models got ranked towards the top, and which ones slid towards the bottom. A 17-year signature series run that is far from over.

1. Nike LeBron VII (2009-10)

2. Nike LeBron VIII (2010-11)

3. Nike LeBron X (2012-13)

4. Nike LeBron IX (2011-12)

5. Nike LeBron XV (2017-18)

6. Nike LeBron IV (2006-07)

7. Nike LeBron III (2005-06)

8. Nike Air Zoom Generation (LeBron 1) (2003-04)

9. Nike LeBron XVII (2019-20)

10. Nike LeBron V (2007-08)

11. Nike LeBron II (2004-05)

12. Nike LeBron XI (2013-14)

13. Nike LeBron XVI (2018-19)

14. Nike LeBron XIV (2016-17)

15. Nike LeBron XII (2014-15)

16. Nike LeBron VI (2008-09)

17. Nike LeBron XIII (2015-16)

Ah yes, the sneaker that was, and may still be, ahead of its time. The Nike Air Foamposite One. The Nike Air Foamposite One saw its initial release back in 1997, and were actually debuted by someone other than Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. Mike Bibby, then a guard in college at the University of Arizona, debuted the bold sneakers on national television during March Madness. The design was simple yet drew attention, the colors you could see from across the gym, and the one-piece upper was comprised of a material never before seen on a shoe. “Foamposite” was just that – a liquid foam that would harden into a “posite-like” material once you put in the mold you wanted for a certain sneaker. The idea was that as you were playing basketball in them the “foam” would start to heat up, due to your feet and inside the sneaker getting hotter, and eventually mold to your foot.

Although not typically used for performance basketball anymore, Nike Foamposites are still released in a plethora of colorways to this day. None, however, is more widely recognized or appreciated than the original royal blue/black colorway – dressed up in Orlando Magic colors for Penny Hardaway. Hardaway’s “1 Cent” logo can be seen on all of the heels of the Nike Air Foamposite One. Although some may think so, the Foamposite One was not actually a signature sneaker of Penny’s, he just helped endorse them. This somewhat mirrors how Kobe Bryant helped endorse the original Hyperdunk back in 2008 and even wore them on court, although they were never a signature sneaker of his. Back in the 90’s the NBA still had a few color restrictions when it came to the shoes players wore and the Foamposites were not “up to code” with the league’s standards. Apparently the shoe had too much blue in it (a primary color), and not enough of a base color (a black or a white). Nike and Penny still wanted to wear the shoes so Penny literally grabbed a sharpie and colored in lines on his royal blue Foamposites so that there would be equal amounts of blue and black. Nike even released a Foamposite “Sharpie Pack” back in 2015 commemorating this. In the years since Penny Hardaway’s playing days he has continued to sport foams in different varieties. Penny has worn numerous Foamposite One’s in the Celebrity All-Star Game during the NBA All-Star Weekend and most recently you can see the now head coach of Memphis State sporting them on the sidelines while he’s coaching his team.

With the Foamposite material leaving options for so many patterns and colorways, Nike has opened the door for pretty much any color combination on this model in recent years. From eye-popping colors, to storytelling patterns, to international inspiration – Nike has, and continues to, explore all options when it comes to the 23-year-old design. Some Foamposite One’s have garnered enormous hype, some have a more simpler, clean color scheme, while others have a cult following. Some colorways that garnish the design that was “ahead of its time”  are just better than others. We took it upon ourselves to rank the best 15 Nike Air Foamposite One colorways of all-time. The only criteria is that the colorway had to release in some capacity to the public (no samples or player exclusives). We also took into account the wearability of the colorway, the theme behind it (if there was one), and the history of it. Look below to check out the list and to see if you own any of the colorways ranked in our Top 15!

15. Nike Air Foamposite One “Pewter” (2011)

14. Nike Air Foamposite One “Cactus” (2007)

13. Nike Air Foamposite One “Shooting Stars” (2014)

12. Nike Air Foamposite One “Oregon” (2013)

11. Nike Air Foamposite One “Big Bang” (2018)

10. Nike Air Foamposite One “Chromeposite” (2015)

9. Nike Air Foamposite One “Memphis Tigers” (2019)

8. Nike Air Foamposite One “Pearlized Pink” (2012)

7. Nike Air Foamposite One “ParaNorman” (2012)

6. Nike Air Foamposite One “Anthracite” (2007)

5. Nike Air Foamposite One “Copper” (2010, 2017)

4. Nike Air Foamposite One “Metallic Red” (2012, 2017)

3. Nike Air Foamposite One “Eggplant” (2009, 2017)

2. Nike Air Foamposite One “NRG Galaxy” (2012)

1. Nike Air Foamposite One “Royal Blue” (1997, 2007, 2008 (HOH), 2011, 2017 (20th Anniversary))