All-new BattleKnit material and a powerful cushioning combination meet the demands of incredibly explosive players.

Brand-new BattleKnit—a type of Flyknit material designed specifically for LeBron—delivers stretchy support, ultra-lightweight flexibility and a locked-in feel.

A full inner sleeve offers a secure, sock-like fit. And a high-stretch collar provides flexible support around your ankle. The collar also lets you get the shoe on and off easily.

This is the first time both Nike Zoom Air and Max Air have been used in a basketball shoe. The combination helps soften hard landings and enables quick moves for powerful players.

Nike designer Jason Petrie has been working with LeBron James for more than a decade. The two have a near telepathic bond. When it came time to conceptualise LeBron's fifteenth shoe, they wanted the vibe to be aggressive, stylish and modern, yet classic. They agreed on where to play it safe and where to push the boundaries. Here, Petrie discusses the nuances of the LeBron 15 design.

When Petrie and his team showed LeBron an early iteration of Flyknit, LeBron loved it. But the 118-kilogramme powerhouse wasn't convinced it would hold up. He needed something stronger. So Nike's Knit Innovation team set to work knitting the material in a completely different way. The team wanted LeBron to feel locked down, but also be able to move freely and react when he needed to. The result: BattleKnit. "We were able to engineer the protection, stretch and performance specifications we wanted for each area of the shoe", Petrie says. "It's an all-in-one package".

The LeBron 15 also has a brand-new cushioning system to power incredibly explosive players like LeBron: a combination of Max Air and Nike Zoom Air. "LeBron loves Max Air", Petrie says. And with this combination, he'll be able to run and jump at full speed, come down with force, absorb that impact and then sprint off in another direction—and each step will propel him forwards. Petrie says, "It delivers everything you'd expect from Zoom Air, with the comfort of Max Air".