28-12-2017

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James Plays Four Quarters in Pure White LeBron 15 PE With Outriggers »

Well, that hasn’t happened for a while so it’s worth to point it out. Last night, LeBron James broke out a new Pure White colorway of the Nike LeBron 15 and stayed with it for the whole game. He’s still using the modified version and it’s possible Nike is trying different things with the outriggers to fix the stability problems.

Many people still ask me what’s been modified and what is an outrigger. First the definition. The outrigger is the area of the sole that lies on the lateral side (the outside) in the forefoot. It gives the shoe a wider platform to help brace the athlete as they cut in different directions. The outrigger has become a focal point of basketball shoes in recent years. Especially when people started playing basketball in low-tops… it was the outrigger and aggressive heel counters that made that possible.

As for what’s different in Nike LeBron 15? Continue reading for more details. I made a comparison image, which shows the original outsole (top), same as GRs we buy in stores, and the modified version with pronounced outriggers (below). I’m well aware that players wear custom builds with difference performance aspects. LeBron James used to put custom insoles into his shoes. Roger Federer’s Vapor 9’s have carbon fiber shanks compared to plastic in production models. The list goes on. However, this time it seems to affect the safety of players so I don’t think we can ignore this issue. Do you think Nike should address this issue publicly and start releasing the modified 15’s?