While LeBron James missed his son Bronny’s recent Summer League game, his youngest daughter Zhuri stole the show with her footwear choice. The 10-year-old went viral for wearing Adidas Sambas courtside, creating an interesting contrast with her father’s billion-dollar Nike partnership.
Why Did Zhuri James’s Shoe Choice Go Viral?
LeBron James wasn’t in attendance to watch his son, Bronny, match up against Cooper Flagg, the number one pick in the 2025 NBA draft, in the Lakers vs. Mavericks Summer League opener. The Lakers lost the game 87-85.
However, James’ wife, Savannah, and daughter, Zhuri, were courtside to cheer on Bronny. Meanwhile, Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving, currently nursing an injury, was there to get a good look at Flagg, his new teammate.
James’ daughter, Zhuri, born October 22, 2014, is his youngest after Bronny, the oldest, and Bryce. The 10-year-old wore Adidas Samba shoes at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas to watch her brother play.
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The shoe choice caught attention because of its cultural significance. First launched in the 1950s, the Adidas Sambas were originally considered football shoes. However, they later transcended sports, becoming the favorite of Emily Ratajkowski, Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid, Rihanna, and A$AP Rocky.
The shoes gained mainstream popularity in the 1990s after Noel and Liam Gallagher of the musical group Oasis, one of the leading English rock bands in the final decade of the twentieth century, wore them.
How Does LeBron James’s Nike Deal Compare to His Daughter’s Adidas Choice?
Despite Zhuri wearing Adidas Sambas, her father, James, has a lifetime deal with Nike worth over $1 billion, which was signed in 2015. Nike later offered lifetime deals to Kevin Durant and Cristiano Ronaldo.
James’s signature line is one of Nike’s most successful, generating around $500 million annually. In basketball sneaker revenue, it trails only Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan signature line.
The relationship between James and Nike goes back decades. James has been loyal to Nike since 2003, when he signed a seven-year $90 million contract after the Cavaliers first drafted him.
Interestingly, Nike has even created shoes inspired by Zhuri. With Nike, James has a pair of shoes, Nike LeBron 21 Violet, which was designed with inspiration from his daughter. The shoe, released in 2023, was marketed around Zhuri, who has a vibrant persona and is an aspiring volleyball player.
Before James committed to Nike, other brands were in the running. Adidas and Reebok were also in the race to sign James before he played in the NBA. Adidas offered a $70 million deal for 10 years with incentives, while Reebok offered $75 million.
The story behind James’s Nike deal reveals what could have been. Notably, Sonny Vaccaro, then with Adidas, had proposed a $100 million deal for James. Unfortunately, the company’s headquarters in Germany wasn’t convinced and cut it down to $70 million. Vaccaro later left Adidas and called the move not to sign James a big blunder.
Nike Air Zoom Generation was James’ first sneaker, released in his rookie year. It was designed by Aaron Cooper, who took inspiration from the Hummer H2. James’ son, Bronny, wore LeBron 20, released in 2022, during his high school and USC career.
Adding another layer to the story, James actually wore Adidas shoes during his high school days. James frequently wore the “three stripes” at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. His favorite was Adidas TMAC 1, the signature shoe of then-NBA superstar Tracy McGrady.
