Unlike many other players who had their signature shoe made by Nike, LeBron Raymone James managed to come in the NBA with his own product ready and waiting for him. LeBron started his collaboration with the sports giant when he was just 18 years old.
The first shoe, called Air Zoom Generation, was created in 2003. On it, you could see the original LeBron James logo. It consisted of two parts: a small crown at the bottom left corner and an intricate symbol, representing the athlete’s interlacing initials.
The version of the LeBron James logo, introduced in 2011, is composed of three elements — two mirrored letters “L” and “J” in a custom stylized font with extended contours, covered by a stylized crown with three square peaks. The crown also has its contours extended to the sides, creating a sense of stability and brutality, and representing the power and professionalism of the world’s most famous basketball player.
Although the shoes were commercially successful, the logo was obviously not that easy to interpret. So, eventually Nike decided to create a new one. The need for a new logo could also be explained by LeBron’s move to the Miami Heat and theshift in his uniform number.Thesymbol was developed by Darrin Crescenziwhile at Nike Brand Design (Creative Director: David Creech), yet there were actually several designers and studios involved.
The current logo is a lockup consisting of an “L” with a “J” joined by a crown, which was taken from the previous logo. The negative spaces are supposed to resemble a basketball court key.
The logotype does not include any text, so it hardly makes sense to discuss the choice of typeface.
TheLeBron James logo may appear in a variety of colors depending on the color of the item where it is placed.