Talents Taken to South Beach

Today’s Sample Sunday centers around the league wide shake-up created by LeBron James when he televised his decision to “take his talents to South Beach.” The Decision’s polarizing effect on sports fans created a thick divide in opinions about LeBron. Pegged as a villain, the bad guy, for leaving Cleveland; LeBron joined forces with Chris Both and Dwyane Wade to form Miami’s instantly relevant ‘Big Three’. Many credit James’s decision as the moment conventional “I’ll win on my own” thinking died and the era of ‘super teams’ arrived. Personally, I think that’s a little unfair- Cleveland couldn’t produce quality free agent signings so LeBron made the best move for his legacy. Sure, The Decision was a little theatrical but millions of dollars were raised for The Boys & Girls Club in the process… so give him a break.

During the first season of the South Beach Era of LBJ’s career, the Heat went 58-24 and effortlessly made it to the NBA Finals. Flare, lots of flare in Miami during the 2010-11 season; the Heat were so much fun to watch with LeBron playing at an other worldly level.

Needless to say Nike had zero issue adjusting to Miami’s jersey colors as LeBron consistently busted out neck breakers. The LeBron 8 stands as a community favorite with some of the best PEs ever created. All the hype helped brew the PE/sample craze- somehow LeBron’s most exclusive footwear ended up in the streets through backdoor channels. Bron’s eighth signature shoe had three phases: the OG, v2 (a stripped down version that ditched the traditional materials of v1’s) and PS (the second year in a row Nike introduced a post-season style shoe). Enjoy some of the best Miami Heat based LBJ 8 samples on this fine Sunday.