JOB FINISHED. One year ago, after not making the playoffs, LeBron James made a promise to Laker Nation that the title drought would not last much longer. On Sunday night, James delivered on that promise. LeBron won his 4th ring with his third franchise, and Anthony Davis got his 1st ring as well. You can say what you want about The Bubble, or the time off that may have helped players, or even certain matchups we didn’t get to see. One thing you can’t argue with or take away is Championships.

LeBron James finally broke out some new XVIII colorways in this past week. LBJ wore a bright orange iteration as well as a Laker-themed color scheme. Anthony Davis capped off the season with some more Kobe 5 Protro heat, one coming in the form of a custom. Quinn Cook found himself in the mix rocking some old school Reebok favorites. Is the Nike Kobe 5 Protro the shoe of the year in terms of on-court selection? Scroll below to check out our last list from the 2019-20 NBA season.

10. Reebok Kamikaze II OG – Quinn Cook

9. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “Lakers” – Alex Caruso

8. Reebok Question Mid OG “Yellow Toe” – Quinn Cook

7. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “Big Stage” – Bam Adebayo

6. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “EYBL” – Rajon Rondo

5. Nike LeBron XVIII “Lakers” – LeBron James

4. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “Bruce Lee” – Bam Adebayo

3. Nike Kobe 5 Protro Custom (done by @theshoesurgeon) – Anthony Davis

2. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Anthony Davis

1. Nike LeBron XVIII “Sisterhood” – LeBron James

When an NBA Finals features LeBron James as well as the team that Kobe Bryant (R.I.P.) played for, you know you can expect most of the countdown to consist of Nike LeBrons and Kobes. Anthony Davis catapulted himself into the Kobe 5 Protro spotloight this past week. The Laker forward donned new colorways of the Mamba’s fifth signature sneaker, one in particular that could very well rival Iguodala’s pair from last week’s list. We haven’t seen a custom sneaker make our Kicks Through the Lens in quite some time, but a Miami Heat player changed that while sporting an eye-catching iteration of the Nike Zoom Freak 2’s. LeBron James stays steady in his rotation, sticking with either the 17’s or 7’s once again. Will we see him rock a pair of his new 18’s during these Finals, or will he save his new model for the 2020-21 season?

The Miami Heat made this series interesting on Sunday night, making the bout a 2-1 advantage Lakers. Jimmy Butler truly showed why he is one of the top players in the entire league. Anthony Davis was in foul trouble throughout Game 3 and L.A.’s offense was lackluster at best. Young players such as Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson of the Miami Heat are showing just how valuable shooting is in today’s NBA. Tonight’s Game 4 holds huge implications as Los Angeles can go up 3-1 or Miami can even things at two games a piece.

10. Nike LeBron XVII “Air Command Force” – LeBron James

9. Nike LeBron VII “Media Day” – LeBron James

8. Nike Zoom Freak 2 Custom (done by @solesbysir) – Bam Adebayo

7. Nike Kyrie 6 “Bruce Lee” – Rajon Rondo

6. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “Zebra P.E.” – Bam Adebayo

5. Nike LeBron XVII “Courage” – LeBron James

4. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Anthony Davis

3. Nike LeBron XVII P.E. – LeBron James

2. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “5 Rings” – Anthony Davis

1. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Anthony Davis

The stage is set. The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers will meet on Wednesday night to kick off the 2020 NBA Finals. Two teams that didn’t even make the playoffs last year will now be squaring off for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. LeBron James has been seen wearing his new 18th model during pre-game warm-ups and then switching to either his 17’s or 7’s come game time. Kobe 5 Protros remain steady among players in addition to new colorways spotted. Unlike ten years ago during the original run of the Kobe 5’s, todays game is truly “positionless basketball” – with point guards 6’2″ and big men 7’0″ rocking low top Kobes.

Jordan Brand athlete, Kemba Walker, wasted no time in wearing some Celtics-inspired Air Jordan 35’s. LeBron has been wearing mismatched shoes as well as changing pairs during halftime (hey, whatever works, right?). The young Miami Heat squad is filled with players sporting Kobe models and now they’ll be facing the team the late great Mamba played for. In surprising fashion, this week’s #1 spot was taken by a new player for the first time all season. Look below to see who rocked one of the best P.E.’s yet.

**Honorable Mention** – Nike Flip Flops – LeBron James

10. Nike KD 13 “Easy Money Sniper” – Paul Millsap

9. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Torrey Craig

8. Nike LeBron XVII “2K Playoffs” – LeBron James

7. Air Jordan XXXV “Celtics” P.E. – Kemba Walker

6. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Anthony Davis

5. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “P.J. Tucker” – Bam Adebayo

4. Nike LeBron XVIII “Reflections” – LeBron James

3. Nike LeBron XVII P.E. – LeBron James

2. Nike LeBron VII P.E. – LeBron James

1. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “South Beach” P.E. – Andre Iguodala

The Eastern and Western Conference Finals are off and running. The Denver Nuggets came back from yet another 3-1 deficit to upset the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round of the playoffs. The Clippers’ title hopes will have to wait until the 2020-21 season as they go yet another year without advancing to a Conference Finals. The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat are squaring off against each other in the east, in what can easily be either team’s series to win. Anthony Davis hit the biggest shot of his career on Sunday night, netting a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer to edge LA over Denver and go up 2-0 in the series. It was definitely a Kobe Bryant moment as the Lakers were sporting their ‘Mamba’ jerseys and A.D. was wearing the “Bruce Lee” Kobe 5’s.

No P.J. Tucker in this week’s countdown as his team has “gone fishing.” This week’s Kicks Through the Lens will be the last time Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are featured until next season. LeBron debuted a brand new P.E. colorway of his Lebron 7’s this past week with a nod to another professional sports team in LA. One under-the-radar player brought back a P.E. from his college days. Paul George gave us one last great color scheme in his Nike PG 1’s. Since we are down to four teams left in the playoffs, our countdown will now be 10 sneakers due to there being less material to choose from. Will a Kobe or LeBron model grab this week’s top spot?

10. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Paul Millsap

9. Nike KD 11 “Tennessee P.E.” – Grant Williams

8. Nike PG 1 P.E. – Paul George

7. New Balance THE KAWHI “Jolly Rancher” – Kawhi Leonard

6. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Anthony Davis

5. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “EYBL” – Bam Adebayo

4. Nike LeBron XVII P.E. – LeBron James

3. Nike Kobe 5 Protro “Bruce Lee” – Anthony Davis

2. Nike LeBron XVII “Air Command Force” P.E. (Alternate) – LeBron James

1. Nike LeBron VII “Dodgers” P.E. – LeBron James

Usually an athlete’s new signature sneaker is releasing on the horizon of a new basketball season. New challenges, a 0-0 record, and unclear ending points to that particular season. The Nike LeBron 18 will be releasing on the cusp of King James tipping off in the Western Conference Finals and chasing his fourth ring. LeBron briefly debuted his 18th signature model during his time in the bubble, seen sporting different colorways both on the court and off. The LeBron 18 is lower cut than the previous 17th model but uses the familiar battleknit material on the uppers. The heel of the shoe will feature both Zoom and Max Air for the first time since the Air Force 25 (2007). The Zoom Air unit fits right in between the Max bag in the heel, fitting together almost like a puzzle.

So far we know of four colorways releasing of the LeBron 18 and when they will be. The first one will debut later this month in China. The second iteration will follow the same suit but then and then have a stateside release in early October. During the Lakers’ time in the bubble we have seen Lebron rock new P.E.’s of his 17’s and even the 7’s. Will James start sporting some P.E. color schemes in his new 18th model for the Western Conference Finals and possibly The Finals? Or will LeBron reserve the on-court spotlight for the 18’s until the 2020-21 season? Look below to see some detailed pictures of the Nike LeBron 18 as well as when each colorway will be releasing.

Nike LeBron 18 “Empire Jade” – September 21 (Greater China Exclusive)

Nike LeBron 18 “Multicolor” (James Gang) – September 24 (China), October 9 (North America)

Nike LeBron 18 “Los Angeles By Day” – November 6

Nike LeBron 18 “Reflections” – September 21