In honor of his sixth appearance at the NBA All-Star game, Lebron James was given the sneakers every gamer and sneakerphile in America would exchange their first-born for: the PlayStation Nike Air Trainer I. These custom-made kicks are not even for sale, and best of luck trying to find a giveaway or charity fundraiser that'll have these as a prize—only 24 exist in the whole world. So, excuse us if we were a bit on the jealous side as we stood just two feet from them when they were shown at the PlayStation 3 Player's Lounge during All-Star Weekend. (We apologize for the journalist drool in advance, Lebron.)
A collaborative effort between Nike and Sony for their years of tit-for-tat (Sony TVs used at Nike events, Nike sneaks used at Sony events, etc.), the Air Trainers feature stylized X's and O's—the buttons you'd find on a PS3controller—drawn along the sides, with the year PlayStation came into existence (1994) emblazoned on the back of the left shoe. The coup de grace is the PS logo sewn into the tongue flaps.
The sneakers were first introduced in September 2009, so it's a wonder any of them are still around to give away. But when The King is in town, you have to pull out all the stops, which is why the sneakers were paired with a custom-painted PSPGo laser-engraved with his logo. Fellow All-Stars Amare Stoudemire and Kevin Durant were also given similar packages, so it's safe to say the only possible way to get your hands on these is to become a professional NBA groupie. Sorry!
Check out more photos below.
(Photo courtesy of Sony PlayStation)
(Photo courtesy of Sony PlayStation)