Nike’s latest LeBron 13 pays homage to a classic

Fewer basketball movies are quoted or referenced more often than 1992’s classic “White Men Can’t Jump.” In the Ron Shelton film, Wesley Snipes’ character, Sidney Deane, gets himself into a bit of trouble and needs to be bailed out by an unassuming guy in in a backwards hat and oversized t-shirt named Billy Hoyle, played by Woody Harrelson. One of the most endearing parts of Harrelson’s character is his shoes, the extra-high top Nike Command Force, complete with visible air and a Volt-like heel. And with Nike’s latest incarnation of the LeBron James’ signature LeBron 13, we get taken back to the early 90s as the legendary film serves as some crucial inspiration.

Being dubbed the “Command Force” LeBron 13, the entire sneaker is a near replication of the 90s classic. A white upper is contrasted with black, wolf grey and green glow accents. The sole is nearly identical to the original with the forefoot being grey and the heel being coated in green. And what may be the best detail of all, this is the first LeBron 13 to have “Nike Air” swoosh branding on the heel, complete with the electric blue pull tab that is found on the original.

It’s worth pointing you to a piece penned by Complex’s Russ Bengston, effectively calling for modern day shoes to be combined with retro concepts, following the rumors of the Huarache-inspired Kyrie 2.

Nike tried something like this back in 2010, but you probably never saw them, at least in real life. Designer Jason Petrie did up a “Heroes Pack” of LeBron VIIs, which included pairs inspired by Penny and Jordan and their respective shoes from the mid-’90s. (The third shoe, a Deion, didn’t owe much to his Diamond Turfs.) It’s hard to imagine the “Penny” and “Jordan” LeBrons wouldn’t have been immediate sellouts.

Why not do the same thing on a larger scale? Instead of retroing the Air Max CB34 again, how about putting the colorway on the LeBron 13, with an outsole that read KING JAMES instead of SIR CHARLES, complete with the crown over the I? Or why couldn’t adidas do a summer version of the Barricade tennis shoe in stripeless white mesh or leather with just touches of green in homage to Rod Laver and Stan Smith?

Rather than re-releasing the Command Forces (as Nike Basketball did roughly a year ago) to little in the way of modern fan fare, these LeBron 13s appeal to both sets of sneaker fans—the young fans scooping up LeBrons by the truck load, and the older ones who appreciate what James is doing today, but love the fact that this throws them back to their heyday. This, of course, all excludes the irony with one of the NBA’s most explosive athletes being blended with a guy who perpetually made his living under the rim.

The “Command Force” easily places itself at the top of the LeBron 13 colorways list for 2016. Mixing inspiration with execution, fans of basketball in the 90s as well as today can mutually appreciate the work that went into this sneaker. Fans should expect it to retail for $200 when it hits shelves on June 11.