words, photography & design // Nick DePaula
By the time the already-dubbed “King James” appeared on the cover of SLAM #78 at the midway point of his rookie season, the most hyped prospect in league history was already meeting, and even exceeding the hype.
“It’s only the beginning,” read the cover text.
He was lacing up his first signature shoe, the Nike Air Zoom Generation, throughout his historic 20.5.5 rookie year. Only Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan had tallied up those kind of points, rebounds and assists totals during their debut seasons by that point.
It wasn’t just the League that had stamped him as the future — Nike coined him “generational” off top, with a record-setting $90-million rookie shoe deal and a signature series.
To celebrate SLAM’s 30th Anniversary year in 2024, we teamed up with brands around the industry to highlight the players, the covers and the sneakers that have made their mark on hoops culture during that time. We created some fire collabs as a result, layering in the details and memories that have led to SLAM making its mark as a Hall of Fame inductee all these years later for the Class of 2024.
One of the most frequent cover athletes in SLAM history, LeBron James has undoubtedly made a generational impact on the magazine.
The history between SLAM and Bron is also long stamped. SLAM was there early, shooting a young James in Akron during his SVSM High School days and throughout his time as a perennial “Mr. Ohio” player of the year, where he led the Irish to three state championships.
The text behind the tongue of the new SLAM x Nike Air Zoom Generation is updated from the cover and says as much:
“Since The Beginning…”
Flipping the hues of his first shoes, a rich red takes on the base color, while a series of design details celebrating his debut signature silhouette all come to life.
The red and black colorway ties back to the original cover shot and the shoe’s iconic first print magazine ad imagery, where James is wearing an era-specific pair of red velour pants.
There’s also a nod to his very first PE, the “Laser” Generations worn on Christmas Day, which was also the first lasered hoop shoe to hit the NBA hardwood.
We created a detailed lasered graphic highlighting the SLAM logo, James’ upbringing in Akron and his first year with Nike that tells the story further.
“I created the hype myself, by playing the way that I play,” reads the inner laser print.
It’s a reference to a standout James quote within the cover feature, when he was asked about what caused the circus and expectations that surrounded him at the time.
In January of 2003, when Nike first wanted to fast-track the design process of creating a signature shoe for LeBron — who was in the middle of his senior season at SVSM — a few potential shoe names were floated.
“Air King James” was an option on the very first email that proposed the rushed timeline to design and develop the shoes in order to make a December launch.
When the original developer Jeff Johnson entered the shoe into Nike’s internal factory development system, he came up with an (admittedly easy to crack) code name instead, since LeBron hadn’t yet officially even signed with Nike:
“Air Zoom Norbel.”
There’s a variety of easter eggs and details from the early days of LeBron’s generational starting point with Nike layered into the lasered side panel graphic, box sleeve design and insole throughout.
While the full Nike track suit and Nike headband may have given it away, when he showed up to a news conference on May 22nd in 2003 to announce which brand he’d be signing with, a simple declaration was all that was needed:
“I’m a Nike guy,” said James.
That statement, his original ‘LJ23’ logo, the ‘KING23’ graphic from his first apparel collection and his then-viral ‘CHOSEN1’ back tattoo are all incorporated into the lasered graphics along the sneaker.
The molded parts on this SLAM Zoom Generation that draft off of his much-discussed silver Hummer H2 are all in chrome, to honor his 18th birthday gift. Along the heel, “SLAM” is also embroidered in the Hummer font. Both the original ‘LJ23’ logo and SLAM ‘S’ can be found stitched along the tongue tabs.
For the very first time, there’s a collar Swoosh placement, just as designer Aaron Cooper originally sketched them up. The logo location was a big debate throughout the year leading into that late 2003 launch, with the Swoosh “bouncing back and forth” on a variety of samples, according to “Coop,” up until the very end.
“That was constantly the question, ‘Is it a Nike shoe, or LeBron’s signature shoe?’” Cooper told me last year.
“If he was already established in the NBA and it was a more bold signature shoe, it would’ve been directly called ‘The Air LeBron,’ had the Swoosh up on the collar and said ‘KING’ on the side instead of ‘NIKE.’”
With Nike plunking down the aforementioned $90 Mil, and pressure mounting on the shoe all along, a larger logo would only help to better establish the brand and the player together from the start, so the thinking went.
Before even getting to a Phil Knight or Mark Parker call from up top, the logo dilemma simply came down to a vote from LeBron.
“In our conversations, LeBron felt like he hadn’t proven himself,” continued Cooper. “He said, ‘Because I haven’t played yet, it needs to be a Nike shoe first.’”
Towards the very end of the sample process, Cooper grabbed Whiteout to cover up the collar Swoosh, and drew a new logo placement along the middle of the shoe.
As we all know, LeBron more than proved himself, with this updated logo placement edition of the Air Zoom Generation speaking to the truly generational impact he has left on the game, and standing as a “more bold signature shoe” with his legacy long cemented.
As SLAM turns 30, LeBron has also left an impact on the magazine, the readers, and the sneaker game all these years later.
This special edition Air Zoom Generation made for friends & family links SLAM back up yet again with Bron, for one of the most detailed editions of his first signature sneaker to date.
BUY YOUR COPY OF 30 YEARS OF SLAM
