The new Nike LeBron 17 colorway throws it back to ’96

When you’re the King, you can do basically whatever you want to do.

That certainly extends to LeBron James’s signature Nike shoe line, which has featured some wild colorways in its latest iteration, the Nike LeBron 17.

We’ve already seen Space Jam-inspired releases in the All-Star Weekend special “Monstars” edition and the wild “Mr. Swackhammer” colorway, as well as a footwear tribute to his “I Promise” school in Akron, Ohio, and an homage to the Jordan Brand lineage with the “Infrared.”

The livery adoring LeBron’s latest release will surely take you down basketball’s memory lane, invoking a shoe commonly associated with Michael Jordan’s Chicago and U.S. teammate, Scottie Pippen.

The LeBron 17 “Uptempo” is a nod to the Nike Air More Uptempo and is just as eye-catching. Pippen wore the unmistakable silhouette, with its graffiti-esque “AIR” branding on the upper, during the Bulls’ 1996 championship campaign and the Dream Team’s subsequent gold medal run at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta that same year.

Decked out in bold University Red, the Battleknit upper on LeBron’s version of Uptempo will be equally effective at supporting your feet on the hardwood as it will at turning heads on the street. 

A swirling pattern emerges towards the rear of the shoe in red, black and white, while under the hood you’ll find a Max Air unit in the heel and twin 15mm Zoom Air pods sitting side by side in the forefoot for maximum speed and explosiveness.

Secure your pair when the Nike LeBron 17 “Uptempo” releases in Men’s sizing on May 8, 2020at Finish Line.