LeBron James Is 41, in Year 24, and Playing in the Lightest Shoe of His Career

NBA careers don’t usually reach year 24. LeBron James turns 42 on December 30, plays for his fourth NBA team and is still running an offense. So when Nike says the shoe for this season is his lightest ever, it reads less like a marketing line and more like a survival plan.

How he’s playing in Philadelphia

James signed with the 76ers in July after eight seasons with the Lakers. He said in September that his friendship with Tyrese Maxey and wanting to help Joel Embiid win a first championship drove the choice. Philadelphia went 45-37 last season and was swept in the second round by the eventual champion Knicks.

The early returns are encouraging. His NBA.com game log shows 15 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in 31 minutes of a 126-107 win over Chicago on November 2, and 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a win over the Knicks on October 30. The Sixers won four of his last five, and he played 34 minutes or fewer in every one. NBA.com lists him at 16.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists a game. The scoring is modest by his standards. The passing isn’t.

What Nike changed

The LeBron 24, which goes on sale November 17, is built around one idea: less. Nike says it is the lightest shoe in the line, measured in a men’s size 9 against LeBron 1 through 23. Its release doesn’t give a weight.

Nike’s release guide lays out the three moves. A new KingKnit upper, based on Flyknit, runs tighter near the laces and more open lower down. The full-length React midsole sits lower for a closer feel to the floor. And a lightweight carbon fiber shank replaces the bulkier containment frame on the LeBron XXIII, with Nike claiming the same torsional support at a fraction of the weight.

“The game keeps getting faster, and we designed the LeBron 24 to meet that moment,” said Dorian Pickens of Nike Basketball. James framed it around younger players: “We made my lightest signature game shoe yet for the speed of today’s game.”

Nike’s guide lists the debut “Stars” colorway, a polarized blue with black and gold, at $180, with pricing varying by region.

Our take

You can’t buy what James actually has, which is two decades of knowing where the ball is going before anyone else does. But the direction of the shoe matches the direction of his game: lower, lighter, fewer wasted movements. He told fans in July, “This is my last decision.” If that means Philadelphia is the last stop, the Sixers are getting a 41-year-old who still makes the whole floor easier for everyone else.