Nike x LeBron James ‘The Forever King Tour’ China: All you need to know

LeBron James and Nike are collaborating on the 20th anniversary of James' first Nike tour in Asia, called The Forever King Tour. The tour is set to take place in the cities of Chengdu and Shanghai and will see the player work closely with and train the youth players of the Nike RISE program in both cities.

After the training, the final rosters comprising 10 boys and girls under the Nike RISE program team will be unveiled by James. This will be followed by the teams competing against the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic team and the EYBL Girls squad, respectively.

The upcoming tour is scheduled just before LeBron James' upcoming 23rd NBA season. The player talked about the upcoming tour in a press statement, as released by Nike's official website:

"There’s an unbelievable love and appreciation for basketball in Asia that’s always incredible to experience. To have the opportunity to share the game with fans and connect with athletes all over the world means a lot to me."

James later added:

"My message has always been the same to the next generation of athletes who are inspired to play the game: If there’s something that you love to do, go out and do it. Fall in love with the process and not the results. That’s the number one key to me, and I always try to instill that in anyone who’s inspired by what I do or needs words of encouragement about how to reach their goals."

LeBron James and Nike's partnership history

LeBron James and Nike's partnership dates back to James's earliest days in the game. The player signed on with Nike after entering the NBA as part of the Cavaliers in 2003.

As a teenager, he signed a deal with the company estimated to be worth around $90 million, as per ESPN. This deal was for 7 years, which was later extended twice. In 2015, after that deal finally expired, Lebron James signed a lifetime deal with Nike, reportedly worth more than $1 billion, as reported by GQ.

The deal is said to bring James more than $30 million annually, and Nike more than $600 million. Alongside the sale of LeBron James' signature line, Nike also established the LeBron James Innovation Center, which includes a full-sized NBA court and a soccer field (First Sportz).

A brief overview of LeBron James's career

James had been both a basketball and soccer player in high school. The player eventually went with basketball and, as mentioned above, signed on with the Cavaliers in 2003.

From the get-go, he was a highly skilled and successful player, scoring 25 points in the Cavaliers' match against the Sacramento Kings, where he debuted, a record for the number of points scored by a prep-to-pro player, in a match that the player's team lost. He went on to receive the Rookie of the Year award in that same year.

²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜

@BronGotGame

LeBron James is pulling up to Shanghai and Chengdu this September for his “Forever King” Tour. This would mark 20 years since his first Asia tour back in 2005.

Trending

In subsequent years, James went on to improve his play and made the selection for his first NBA All-Star Game in the 2004-2005 season. James remained with the Cavaliers till 2010 through various extensions before signing on with the Miami Heat. James played with the Miami Heat till 2014, before returning to Cleveland for another four years.

Currently, James is with the Los Angeles Lakers. According to CNBC, he joined the Lakers in 2018 and became the highest-paid player in NBA history in 2022, when he signed an extension worth $97.1 million, taking his career earnings to $528.9 million total.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback