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Nike LeBron 18: two shoes in one, from forefoot to heel

The LeBron 18 is LeBron James’s eighteenth signature shoe, designed by his longtime designer Jason Petrie and released in September 2020. Petrie literally split the shoe in two: speed in the forefoot, power in the heel. That split is not just talk — you see it when the shoe is in front of you, with a slim, knitted forefoot that flows into a heavy, muscular heel block.

The cushioning delivers on that division and was a first when it debuted. There is a large Max Air unit in the heel, visible through a window with LEBRON on it, and beneath it a full-length Zoom Air bag runs and extends into the heel cavity. For the first time at Nike Basketball, the foam there was completely replaced by air: you stand both front and back on an air system, not on foam. The result is the rare combination of a soft landing and an immediate push-off that a player of LeBron’s stature demands.

The upper is called Knitposite 2.0, a fusion of lightweight Flyknit with heat-molded yarns that give the shoe support and prevent the weave from stretching under lateral pressure. The LeBron crown adorns the flank, and the heel bears the silhouette of his stomping motion.

When comparing, watch the cut, because just over one-fifth of this page is the LeBron 18 Low. That is the low version with a smoother, less knitted upper and a lower collar, but with exactly the same large Max Air heel. The Low arrived in 2021 and was released in its own colorways; the title always specifies Low. In addition there are kids’ sizes (GS, PS, TD) and a number of collaborations, including the versions tied to the film Space Jam: A New Legacy in which LeBron himself starred.

Within signature basketball, the LeBron line stands alongside other player shoes each built around one player. Where the Nike KD 19 opts for lightness and the Kobe line for low-to-the-ground, the LeBron opts for mass and power. It is the heir to the idea that the Air Jordan 1 once began: a shoe that makes one player’s game the basis of its design.

On this page you can see which versions of the Nike LeBron 18 are currently hottest according to the Hypescore, the lowest price they can be found at, and how many shops have them in stock.