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"It was a bigger deal than people realized to get that pushed out. That will ultimately be the thing like we brought color to the game."

"This is Oral History of LeBron 9. What started as a sketch, became one of the most iconic silhouettes in history. It really changed color in performance footwear, specifically basketball footwear, and became a sneaker icon."

"My name is Ernesto Mayz and I'm the Senior Product Line Manager for Nike Classics. And today we have a very, very special guest. My guy, how's it going? Jason Petrie, Senior Designer, Nike Basketball."

"I know that you've been working with LeBron for a little while. It's been a long time. It's getting on to be about 15 years or so. Okay. So you mentioned that you came in technically then with the seven iconic, eight crazy."

"So when you get to the nine, what does that look like? The time when Nike a lot of innovation with Hyperfuse, we had to rethink how we built shoes and then you have Flywire as well. Right. These things were like radical departures as far as how we were building and creating shoes. So…"

"...incorporating that took the shoe to a new level by itself. The materials that are used in Hyperfuse are far different than traditional materials. Right. Completely. So color, texture, finishes become explosive. The team was so close. We hung out together. We were growing up together, obviously..."

"...experimenting in the culture of basketball with these colors, materials, silhouettes. And now, we'll introduce the latest and greatest LeBron 9. Perfect for the summer. What does it mean..."

"…to see the continuation of that legacy that we were just talking about with new colorways and new inspiration for again, a new generation? I think it does create a new iconic colorway for LeBron, a feel for LeBron that matches up with that LA vibe."

"It's a continuation of what the team was doing when the shoe came out, but now appropriate for what's going on in the game and culture. When you think about legacy and when you think about the LeBron 9, where do you think that sits?"

"I feel weird even answering a question like that, because I'm just a designer. I'm out here. I just like shoes, you know? But I think the championship again comes first, but then I think outside of that, very, I'll say expected answer..."

"...would be that color explosion because if you think of where shoes have gone since then and what people wear now, it's not like people wouldn't wear it. It's just because that's just the way things were, you had black, white, red. White, black, the team colors."

"It was a bigger deal than people realized to get that pushed out. And so I think that will ultimately be the things, we brought color to the game. I'm just so happy to be a part of it. And hopefully we can continue to create moments like that in the future. Can stop, won't stop. Yeah."

"Everybody wants to know, LeBron 9 MVP championship. Was it the shoes? Oh man, come on now. Of course not…"

"But that guy could ... Listen, maybe it didn't hurt. I'll put it there and I think, as an athlete, when you look good..."

"...you feel good, you play good. And I think that was a part of it. JP. Jason Petrie. My man, I appreciate you. This was a lot of fun. My name is Ernesto Mayz and this was Oral History of the LeBron 9."

Oral History Of:

LeBron 9