Nike LeBron 16 EP 'I'm King'
Colorway: Black/Metallic Gold-Black · Style code: BQ5970-007 · Release date: December 15, 2018 · Price: $250 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike LeBron 16 EP 'Equality' (BQ5970-100) · Nike LeBron 16 EP 'Equality' (BQ5970-101) · Nike LeBron 16 EP '20 20' (BQ5970-900) · Nike LeBron 16 EP 'Oreo' (AO2595-006) · Nike LeBron 16 EP 'King' (AO2595-601)
By December 2018 LeBron James had four MVP awards (2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013), three championships, and six months in a Lakers uniform after signing a four-year deal the previous June. A shoe with this name arriving at that point was less a boast than a statement of position: the sixteenth signature model of a career that had begun straight out of high school.
The make-up started as a player exclusive, which is why the detailing runs personal rather than commercial. Gold sits on the tongue branding against a black Battleknit 2.0 upper, a crown is printed on the insole where only the wearer sees it, and the phrase is written across the heel.
The construction is the 16's own argument. Lacing is integrated into the knit rather than run through separate eyelets, and the tongue is built as one wrapped piece. Underneath, a full-length Zoom Air unit is left completely visible, which by that point in the line had become how a LeBron shoe announced its cushioning instead of hiding it. It reached shops in December 2018 at $185.