Lakers News: LeBron James Pays Respect To Prince By Unveiling ‘Purple Rain’ Nike LeBron 15

Matthew Moreno
2 Min Read
Ethan Miller-Getty Images

LeBron James has yet to make any public remarks since signing a four-year, $153 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, which makes his appearances all the more chaotic.

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Aside from a vacation, James’ first outing after joining the Lakers was attending a Las Vegas Summer League game. He sent the crowd into a frenzy and appeared to thoroughly enjoy watching some of his new teammates.

James sat along the baseline, donned in yellow Lakers shorts that retail for $500 and immediately sold out, and an unreleased pair of purple suede Nike Zoom Generations, his first signature shoe that Nike recently began retroing.

James turned up in Las Vegas once more on Thursday night, visiting Bishop Gorman High School with his two sons to watch Dwyane Wade’s son, Zaire, play in an AAU basketball game.

The 14-time All-Star was not wearing any Lakers apparel, but he did have on a white Nike LeBron 15 with black and purple accents and a purple sole. James later shared close-up images of the shoe on Instagram, dubbing the pair ‘Purple Rain’ in an apparent ode to the late musician, Prince:

Prince released his “Purple Rain” album in 1984, which incorporated floral prints that are similar to what’s seen on James’ latest signature shoe.

Purple wasn’t often found on any of his previous sneakers, but that of course figures to quickly change. But like with the purple suede Zoom Generation, there is not an indication the ‘Purple Rain’ LeBron 15 will be made available for purchase.

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Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers games, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com