How Nike triumphed over Reebok and Adidas in 2003 for LeBron James' services: 'They had nine pairs already built for him'

LeBron James was already a phenomenon even before he played an NBA game, so much so that he triggered an all-out recruitment war from the biggest shoe companies. Again, it's important to reiterate that this was prior to the 2003 NBA Draft, when nobody knew where LBJ would end up.

Ultimately, Nike accomplished the mission despite offering less money than Reebok and the fact that Bron personally favored Adidas. How did the Swoosh pull off the near impossible? It's actually pretty simple: They already designed prototypes of LeBron's first shoe, and that chess move eventually made "The King" commit to a deal on May 22, 2003, one day before the Draft.

"Hey, you've got to hand it to Nike," LeBron's former agent Aaron Goodwin said in an interview with Andscape. "Reebok had drawings of its LeBron James shoe – Nike had nine pairs already built for him."

The underdog takes the win

In this particular sneakers race, the Swoosh was a massive underdog. Reebok offered the most money, a $100 million-plus deal over six years, and a $10 million signing bonus that had the James family in shock. Meanwhile, Adidas also had an early advantage since LBJ loved the comfortability of the Pro Model sneaker. During this time, Goodwin admittedly thought LeBron to Reebok was a done deal.

"I thought he was going to go with Reebok," Goodwin stated. "At one point we stepped outside the room and LeBron said, 'Hey, I feel comfortable with them.' Three hours later, he chose Nike."

Adidas and Reebok did their work early. The Three Stripes had their vice president, David Bond, come over and interview James at the latter's own home in his junior year in high school! On the other hand, Reebok pulled the "celebrity card," asking their leading ambassador, Allen Iverson, to talk to James and make him consider the brand.

Nike decided to go a different route. Instead of showing the high school phenom caricatures of shoes and whatnot, they decided to let him see and feel the products himself. The Swoosh set the plan's wheel in motion in January 2003, all hands on deck on what was to be their pitch to LeBron. They called their most distinguished designersーTinker Hatfield, Aaron Cooper, and Eric Avarーto collaborate and help out.

"Three trips to Nike's Asia factories were mapped out for mid-January, late February, and early April 2003. The ultimate objective on the timeline: "hand-carry" size 9 and size 15 final sample pairs back to Oregon ahead of the brand's pitch meeting to James, possibly taking place in May," the Andscape article noted.

Needless to say, Nike got it done.

Executing LeBron's input

One of the best things about Nike when it comes to manufacturing signature shoes is that they value the input from the players. LeBron was no different.

"On our first Akron trip, I asked him, 'What innovation could we bring to the table from a performance standpoint?' He said, 'Comfort,'" Cooper recalled.

James loved the Adidas Pro Model and considered it a "comfortable shoe" because the collar has good padding and got "underfoot comfort." The materials were nothing special, and there was no innovative technology, but Bron appreciated the comfortability. When it was time to deliver on that fateful night on May 22, Cooper already had the shoe on hand.

"When we got to the pitch meeting, we had his shoe in his size for him to try on. LeBron put them on for the first time, jumped up about four to five times, stopped and said, 'Coop, these are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn,'" said AC.

As of this day, LeBron had 22 iterations in his main line and dozens of others in his secondary collection (e.g., Soldier, Ambassador, and Witness). His signature sneakers bring in around $340 million of annual revenue, the most by any active player. Nike's success with the "The Kid from Akron" signing shows that sometimes, understanding what the athlete truly wants can make all the difference.