Nike LeBron Soldier 13 SFG 'Black Out'
Colorway: Black/Black/Black · Style code: AR4225-005 · Release date: October 2019 · Price: $2832 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike LeBron Soldier 13 'Chrome' (AR4225-001) · Nike LeBron Soldier 13 'Thunder Grey' (AR4225-002) · Nike LeBron Soldier 13 'Bred' (AR4225-003) · Nike LeBron Soldier 13 SFG 'Lakers' (AR4225-004) · Nike LeBron Solder 13 SFG Sneakers (AR4225-100)
The Soldier line has been the strapped, laceless half of LeBron James's signature range since the mid-2000s, and by the thirteenth model the closure had settled into two wide bands with adjustable slip-locks, one across the forefoot and one over the instep. There are no laces at all. A flexible inner sleeve, a ripstop upper and Air units set in a foam midsole handle the rest, and reviewers noted that these straps held position where earlier versions had worked loose during play. The all-black version removes every contrast from that structure, so the strap edges and the weave of the ripstop are the only things separating one part of the shoe from another. It arrived in late 2019. Laceless basketball shoes stay rare because the fit tolerances are unforgiving, and this is the longest-running attempt at one, a design built around getting in and out quickly that ended up being adopted well beyond the player it was made for.