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LeBron James debuted a new unreleased shoe recently and it has sneakerheads in a frenzy.

During the Los Angeles Lakers 105-99 win over the Golden State Warriors last weekend, James wore the unreleased Nike LeBron NXT Gen “JW” colorway.

“JuJu is an unbelievable basketball player, but more importantly, she’s an unbelievable person,” James said of the collaboration with the Trojans star player. “To be able to have a collaboration with her, get her inspiration, to be able to create that silhouette that we created that you guys saw in launch a few days ago, it was an honor for me, it was a treat for me.”

The “JW” stands for JuJu Watkins, the electric face of the USC Trojans women’s basketball team and the first athlete to co-create a sneaker within the Nike LeBron NXXT Gen line.

The shoe is unapologetically sleek. Monochromatic grey and silver tones wrap the silhouette like armor, understated yet defiant.


  The LeBron NXXT Gen by JuJu. Nike The LeBron NXXT Gen by JuJu. Nike

Then the metallic Swoosh slices across the side, glossy and sharp, catching arena lights the way flashbulbs once chased Michael Jordan in the ’90s.

It’s modern royalty meeting next-generation swagger. Oh, and it also comes in black and other colors as well.

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Watkins, one of Nike’s brightest young stars, is sidelined this season after tearing her ACL during the NCAA Women’s tournament last March.

Her absence from the court hasn’t dimmed her shine with Nike, where she’s earned the rare distinction of seeing her player-exclusive designs reach the public.

This collaboration feels less like a marketing play and more like a passing of the torch — one icon lending his platform to a phenom whose future first-round status feels inevitable at the WNBA level.

There’s no official release date yet for the sneaker, but Nike says it’s happening this spring and will retail somewhere in the $170 range.

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