Christian Petersen / Getty Images file
LeBron James sports LeBron X sneakers,
By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor
Many of you once shelled out $64.99 to be like Mike.
But how many of you will pay $315 look like LeBron?
According to a story in The Wall Street Journal?on Tuesday, Nike this fall?will unveil and sell the latest LeBron James basketball shoes, fresh off King James? gold medal grab in London and his recently ? finally ? earned NBA title with the Miami Heat.
On the topic of price point for the LeBron X Nike+ (which James debuted during Team USA?s final win over Spain), the shoe company isn?t revealing anything. Yet.
?We're not confirming/commenting on the LeBron?X+ price,? said Brian Strong, a Nike spokesman.
In the basketball category, Nike?s highest priced shoe on the market now is the LeBron 9 PS Elite, which goes for $250 and the Nike
Hyperdunk+ Sport Pack, also at $250.
Compare that to a pair of Air Jordans ? once the coolest kicks on the planet ? which sold for about $65 in 1985.?
?It?s definitely the highest retail price ever for a basketball sneaker,? said Jamie Delaney, public relations and social media manager at rEvolution, a sports marketing and media services agency in Chicago. He also describes himself as the ?office sneakerhead.?
?Normally, as a sneakerhead, when you see a high price point, you think it?s for a limited shoe, like 1,000 or 2,000 pairs. From what I?ve seen, the LeBron X? will be 50,000 pairs for the $315 version.
?That?s kind of a turn off for me. As a sneakerhead, the whole allure of collecting sneakers is to get something that not a lot of people can get,? Delaney said. ?It?s interesting that they?re trying this strategy ? not taking reservations and they?re going to put them in retail like any other basketball shoe."
Delaney?s favorite sneakers to wear? A pair of 2011 Air Jordan 3 Black Cement re-releases. ($160).?
?It?s one of everyone?s favorite shoe. For me, I like the cement and the elephant-skin design of it. It?s a comfortable shoe. It?s a way of making a statement with the way you dress without having to go buy new jeans and a new shirt. And you can wear it every day.
?Or you can just leave it in the box, like I do."
He has two pairs, actually ? one for show, one still in the original box.
?Usually, most people have a pair to rock and a pair to stock,? Delaney said. "That?s the way we put it.?
LeBron?s new shoe will not be the most expensive athletic sneaker on the market, by the way.?
According to the website Zappos,?a pair Marc Jacobs Quilted Low Top Trainers fetch $640 and a pair of DSquared Wings High Tops are listed at $595.
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