Nike LeBron 21 review

LeBron has bounced back with this wonderful hooper! Don't sleep on it if you're looking for:

• A model with incredibly good cushioning technologies (Zoom Turbo, Zoom Air).
• A pair that offers great stability and a supportive design.
• A hooper that adapts to different playstyles because of its overall wonderful performance.
• High-quality materials in a super stylish reimagined version.

We hope your feet are ready for what's coming. First of all, we loved this shoe from head to toe but... this shoe didn't love us that much at the beginning. Its break-in period is painful, and we ended up with blisters and sore Achilles for a while. It was worth it, though, as long as you can endure it, we can assure you this is an amazing pair. If you don't want to know anything about break-in periods (which is totally understandable), you should have a look at the Nike LeBron NXXT GEN, which also has high-quality materials but in a more comfy build.

If you wanna play streetball, we believe it's better to go for the Nike Cosmic Unity 3. Its hard and sturdy rubber outsole is unmatched when it comes to abrasion resistance.

Just by looking at these LeBrons, we knew they'd prioritise durability. So... what about breathability? Well, let's see!

It looks like we were totally right. Neither LeBron's nor Shaq's shoes would be able to earn a living being yoga instructors. The Reebok Shaq Attaq got a sad 1/5 in our breathability test, and the LB 21? Uh-oh... we're afraid it got the exact same punctuation! Another disappointing 1/5.

As we can see in our light test, only the tongue has some holes, but that was not enough to let our feet breathe during our wear tests.

Our microscope confirmed it, look at the material! Even though you might see some round details, those are definitely not pores. This model is built to last, and its upper agrees!

Nothing to be found in the close-up either. The material is solid, no pores at all!

It doesn't really matter if you're a huge basketball fan, if you only watch the NBA from time to time, or if you don't care that much about this sport... we all know who LeBron James is.

This legendary hooper is well-known for his aggressive plays under the rim, so it's only natural that his shoes are ready to match his playstyle.

We knew it right after watching this video. Our Dremel struggled a lot to damage this shoe's upper minimally. The LeBron 21 resisted the attack calmly, and its striking defense earned it a 5/5 in our toebox durability test.

Look at that! It literally looks like we accidentally bumped our toes, not that a rolling tool at a 5K RPM speed and 3.2N pressure tried to destroy our shoe.

Here we have the two ends of the durability spectrum. On the left, the Nike LeBron 21 and its magnificent 5/5 in our toebox durability test. On the right, the Nike Precision 6 and its disappointing 1/5 in this same test.

After the amazing durability of its toebox, we were wondering if the heel padding would be that much of a fighter too.

With an average score of 3/5, we actually couldn't complain. The heel is the weakest point of every shoe, so we're not that surprised when our Dremel damages it more than the toebox.

It didn't look that bad, though. Also, as you can probably guess from the image, there's a considerable amount of padding in that area. We decided to cut the shoe in half to see it better, look:

As we were saying before, we really can't complain! There are far worse results, let us give you an example.

This is what the Reebok Answer DMX's heel looked like after our Dremel went all out on it. It scored a 1/5 in our heel padding durability test, we just couldn't give it anything higher!

At 84.5 HC, the outsole hardness of this LeBron pair is slightly above average.

This result promises a good balance between grip and durability, and our wear tests couldn't agree more. Its traction felt quite reliable (we'll talk about it later on) and, regarding durability, all we can do is ask our Dremel!

For our outsole durability test, we grabbed our Dremel once again. This time at 10K RPM and 3.2N, the attack of our tool lasted 22 seconds.

If you only watch our video, you might think the Dremel wasn't even touching the outsole, as it's barely moving! This was already telling us that good things were coming... and we were absolutely right.

A minimal dent of 0.5 mm appeared when we finally put the tool aside. This is notably less deep than average, which clearly indicates the material is hard and resistant. We're loving it, Nike!

As the outsole material is pretty hard, this part of the shoe doesn't need to be that thick.

At 4.6 mm, our caliper indicated it's still thicker than average. This means the shoe's outsole won't lose its integrity any time soon. Time to hoop until you can no more!

Tougher materials, a thicker outsole, loads of padding... of course this is gonna have an effect on the weight!

At 14.2 oz/403.0g, this shoe is lighter than the previous iteration, and the materials felt premium on our feet. LeBron is a power forward, and if you've ever seen him on the court, you'll know he's a big guy. He doesn't need to be as fast as a guard in his moves, so his shoe's design didn't really focus on that. Nevertheless, the model we're reviewing is the NEW LeBron 21, which is an updated and lighter version of the original.

With that being said, its weight didn't stop us from making quick fakes, crossover steps, or dribbles. It was nice for our pick-and-rolls, too! It felt nice on our feet, and we didn't mind some extra oz if that meant we got to use this shoe longer.

At 26.6 mm, this shoe's heel stack is lower than average. We believe this just because of our caliper said so, as the feeling on our foot was not that one of a low stack regarding cushioning!

We've said multiple times that a tall midsole doesn't mean it's gonna be plush, and vice-versa! In this case, we can clearly see an Air Zoom unit in the heel. We absolutely love this feature, as it helped us with our landings. Its propulsive feeling came hand in hand with a bouncy foam that made us feel like a pro player every time we hooped.

At 22.4 mm, the forefoot stack of these LeBrons is pretty close to the average.

If you look at the end of the claws of our caliper you can see there's something in between the orange foam and the insole. It's the Zoom Turbo, which made sure we got some extra snappiness every time we took off. For us, this is a perfect setup to do layup drills!

The snap of this detail allowed us to do our best in our in-n-out moves. As usual, you can see us in this video performing a backdoor cut. It's in slow-mo, but you might be able to realise our forefoot actually comes back stronger once we press it hard against the court.

At 4.2 mm, this shoe's drop is pretty low.

During our wear tests, it felt pretty close to the ground. And thanks to its Air Zoom unit, we also got some nice impact protection. A perfect combo, really!

To measure the softness of a shoe's midsole accurately, first we need to cut it in half. Then, when we can access this piece nicely, we press our durometer against it and wait for a result.

At 26.5 HA, the LeBron 21's midsole has an average softness. It's made of cushlon foam, which we found out to be pretty bouncy during our wear tests.

We really love this feature on basketball shoes, as it helps us when we go for aggressive moves. It was like a good balance for the weight of this shoe.

Even though we've said before that this New/Reimagined iteration is lighter than its original, it's still not one of the lightest basketball shoes out there. If you're a LeBron fan and you want a nimble pair of his, have a look at the Nike LeBron Witness 7. If you don't mind changing brands, then we suggest you have a look at our lightweight basketball shoes catalog.

We do love us a nice and thick insole, and the LB 21 knows it well! At 5.7 mm, we felt it was comfortable during our playtests.

This thick insole + the Zoom Turbo at the forefoot + the Zoom Air at the heel = A fun and snappy ride. This combination made us enjoy every moment we had on the court, as we felt our energy was limitless thanks to the shoe's pop underfoot.

Following the general features of this model, we definitely expected it to be quite stable. And not only because of that, but also because we're talking about a pair of LeBron shoes after all! The King needs some stability for his crazy plays, and we couldn't wait to see what our feet had to say about this.

As expected, we felt surefooted and well-supported. Our ankles didn't wobble, which is something we really appreciate when we play. Why? Well, because if we feel unstable in our new hoopers, we don't have that much confidence when we're trying to play. Doesn't that happen to you too?

Nevertheless, this model made sure that didn't happen. Our overall experience regarding stability was pretty nice, as we felt safe and sound during our playtests.

Great stability comes with... great torsional rigidity.

We tried our best to bend the shoe, but it was pretty hard for our thumbs! You can see it in the video, we're clearly struggling. That's why we gave this model a well-deserved 5/5 in our torsional rigidity test, what a toughie!

The only bad thing that comes with a high torsional rigidity is... a break-in period. And let us tell you, this shoe's break-in period? Definitely a killer, we ended up with blisters!

Still, we'd say this is pretty much the only big con we have for this model. The shoe itself is amazing!

Now let's talk a little bit more about those blisters, shall we?

Just look at how incredibly stiff this LeBron's heel counter is. Oh, my! It doesn't even bend a little bit when we press our thumb against it.

This sure meant some incredibly good lockdown feel, but it also came with a downside: heel rubs. It really hurt our skin, and we ended up with some painful blisters at the end of the day. This model is definitely full of power, but you gotta tame it first!

A wide platform is a must when we talk about stability, and big players like LeBron (in every sense of the word, though) definitely need it!

At 120.5 mm, this shoe's midsole width in the forefoot is far bigger than average. We wanted to jump in the lab because of the happiness this caliper reading made us feel. In our games, this translated into us being able to land safely. We could push for any rebound, and we were not taken aback even if in the jump ball we were facing a bigger person.

The heel was also a bit wider than average, but nothing too big this time.

At 91.6 mm, this extra space is something we could only appreciate as the overall feeling in our heel was pretty snug. No heel slippage, no weird heel moves... nothing to worry about!

Our previous lab tests indicated this shoe would be stiff, yet our wear tests disagreed. In other words, even though the shoe overall was pretty rigid and the transitions could always be smoother, we didn't actually encounter any problems when we needed to tip-toe in our shot fakes or drop steps.

When our gauge returned 43.1N, we couldn't even close our mouths. Our feet were totally right. This score is average, but coming from such a rigid shoe... it's just wonderful news!

We really enjoyed the redesign of these LeBrons!

Talking about traction in basketball shoes is always so exciting! This feature definitely makes a difference, as nobody likes to accidentally slip when they're trying to dribble or go past an opponent.

Its full-length rubber outsole was a wonderful touch to maximise traction. Even though both outsoles picked up quite some dust, we just needed to wipe them clean with our hands for them to be sticky again.

We also enjoyed the multidirectional pattern, as it allowed us to change directions quickly when needed. It's true that a full-length rubber outsole might add some weight to the shoe, but we found it completely worth it.

When we measured the toebox width at the widest part, our caliper returned 102.7 mm.

It's an average score, and our standard width feet were pretty happy wit it. Nevertheless, we can't recommend this model to wide-feet hoopers, as it might be too snug for their bigger feet.

We absolutely loved the dual colour of this model. We think it brings a new and original style to an already iconic pair, and the fact that the details of both shoes are on the same tones is just so aesthetically pleasing!

At 75.7 mm, our caliper agrees this model tappers quite a lot towards the tip.

That's why we believe wide-foot hoopaholics won't find this pair comfortable. Their toes might feel cramped, but this isn't something we didn't expect from a Nike shoe, honestly.

If you're looking for an elite model that adapts to wide feet and you don't mind changing brands, you might enjoy the Adidas Harden Vol 7.

We were pretty surprised when we removed this shoe's laces and faced its non-gusseted tongue.

This design made sure our feet had no problem getting into the shoe. With its padded interiors, rigid and stable structure, and top eyelets, we didn't feel any less containment. There's also a lace in the middle of the tongue that makes sure it doesn't slip or dance from side to side, which is something we usually find pretty annoying!

A thickly padded tongue is the final touch to the overall locked-in feel this shoe offered us.

At 12.5 mm, our caliper confirmed that we wouldn't get any kind of bite or uncomfortable rub coming from the laces. Our instep was happily welcomed by a plush hug, and we loved it!

There's a colourful pull-tab at the back of this model. In this colorway, it's the blue-ish flap we can see at the top of the heel.

We didn't find it extremely helpful to put on and off the shoe, but we liked the design choice and the aesthetics. Also, let's not forget this pair has a non-gusseted tongue, so sliding our feet into it wasn't hard at all! The shoe offered us a wide and welcoming opening. Thank you, Nike!

Just in case you need to use your own orthotics, this LeBron pair has a removable insole.

Honestly, we were pretty happy with how it performed during our playtests. But there'll be no problem if you want to change it, which is always a plus!

As you can see in these pictures, the insoles come in different colours, matching the aesthetic of each shoe. We are OBSESSED!

We could see some fading light coming from the translucent Swoosh, but no, this shoe doesn't have any reflective elements.

It's not made to play streetball after all, so we didn't mind it didn't have any despite it's hefty price tag.