While Team USA was winning a gold medal in London, LeBron James was debuting his newest shoes, the LeBron X. Why is this news? Because there will be two versions of the ‘X', one of which coming with a technology never before seen in a shoe. The LeBron X Nike Plus will cost you $315, but not to worry, you can still get the standard version of the shoe for $180.
The LeBron X's cost is the most that Nike has ever charged for a shoe. The reason for the up charge is for the Nike Plus technology that is included in the shoe, and for someone who takes basketball very seriously it's a great tool to help you track and improve certain elements of your game.
This technology is built around embedded pressure/motion sensors that track and store data on stuff like how much/how far/how fast a player moves during a game or workout, or how high he/she jumped on a dunk.
Nike says that the LeBron X shoes are "inspired, both aesthetically and metaphorically, by the diamond, a precious and nearly indestructible gemstone." I agree that it's a very handsome pair of shoes, and I'm curious to see how many people invest in the X Nike Plus version and get use out of the technology. Is this the kind of thing that players will use to their advantage in the future?