The Best NBA Christmas Sneakers Every Year Since 2008

Image via Complex Original

Worn by: LeBron James

The “Chalk” Nike LeBron 6 technically predates the onslaught of Christmas-themed signature sneakers that was about to come, but it would be fair to consider it the godfather of the modern holiday footwear. James laced up the sneakers—which paid tribute to his then-pre-game ritual of tossing chalk in the air—en route to a 93-89 victory against the Washington Wizards, whom the Cavs outed in the first round of the NBA Playoffs three straight seasons spanning from 2006-2008. It’s easy to forget the “Chalk” 6s thanks to the line’s shift to a more-is-better strategy when it came to the amount of colorways released, but it’s one of the few memorable versions thanks to its Christmas Day debut.

Worn by: LeBron James

2009 was a revolutionary year for Nike Basketball, and a new start for the line that found itself in an uninspired design rut. The brand relaunched the Kobe Bryant and LeBron James’ signature sneakers, on their fourth and seventh models respectively, through imaginative marketing and storytelling that’s become attached to Nike throughout the years. The shoes saw Bryant switch to a low-top and James go with full-length Air Max, and were pitched by the MVPuppets—a comical take on the two players’ personalities. For Christmas Day, James’ sneakers took on an ombre look that descended from black to crimson to a hot pink Air Max unit. This was also the last signature sneaker that James would receive as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers during his first tenure with the team. As luck would have it, LeBron and Kobe played each other on Christmas Day with the Cavs besting the Lakers.

Worn by: Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant’s “Grinch” colorway of the Nike Kobe 6 has almost become played out in 2018—they’ve been popping up regularly this season thanks to the league’s lifting of sneaker color restrictions. But the shoe was legitimately shocking when it debuted in 2010. By the time the Kobe 6 released, Bryant had seemingly half the league hooping in low tops, so it took something like the bright lime green upper of the “Grinch” 6 to set him apart. The game may not have gone as planned for the Lakers, who lost by 16 to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat. Bryant didn’t have the greatest game himself either, scoring just 17 on 6-16 shooting. That hardly mattered though, because those numbers have been long forgotten. What has endured is the memory of the “Grinch" 6, as evidenced by its presence on NBA courts today.

Worn by: Kobe Bryant

The Nike Kobe 7 is a memorable shoe for several reasons. Not only did it look good and incorporate prints onto the shoe’s upper, it also came with multiple insoles with different ankle support options for the “Kobe System,” and was accompanied by a slick marketing campaign that featured Kanye West. 2011-2012 was an off season for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, as they were beaten 4-1 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals, which signaled a true changing of the guard in the NBA. But one thing was for certain: Kobe still had some of the best sneakers in the game, and his pair for Christmas Day that year came complete in a purple and yellow Cheetah colorway that would be echoed on an unreleased pair of Yeezys. As for the actual game, Bryant’s Lakers lost to Derrick Rose’s Chicago Bulls by a point. 

Worn by: Ray Allen

When it comes to ranking the most popular Air Jordan models, the XVIII and XX aren’t typically at the top of many lists. But double down with two different Christmas-themed retro PEs on the same day, and now we have something to talk about. Ray Allen laced up a red suede edition of the XVIII for the first half of the Miami Heat’s 2012 finals rematch against the Oklahoma City Thunder and followed it up with red patent pair of XXs for the game’s second half. Allen only scored 7 points, but the Heat bested the Thunder just as they had done the previous summer as LeBron James claimed his first NBA title. Allen wasn’t yet a member of the Heat, but he’d go on to win his own ring with the team a few months later.

Worn by: Nick Young

Nick “Swaggy P” Young has been a lot of things during his NBA career: a flashy dresser on and off the court, a braggadocio player who takes high-risk shots, a journeyman, and an NBA champion. One of his signature moments came in 2013, when he wore a pair of custom Air Jordan XI Lows in a Lakers purple-and-white colorway. Depending who you ask, the shoes are either great or awful. But the same can be said for much of Young’s career. The Kobe Bryant-less Lakers lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat 101-96. Young chipped in 20 points, though, on 18 shots.

Worn by: Kyrie Irving

In the four years since Nike launched Kyrie Irving’s signature line he’s won an NBA title, staked claim to the title of the best-selling performance basketball sneakers, and become a constant presence on the hardwood—from local rec centers all the way to the NBA—thanks to the outstanding performance and playability of his shoes. The day after his inaugural model launched in the “Dream” colorway, Irving took the court in this PE that featured a Christmas-themed flip on the concept. It was an easy shoe to overlook thanks to the game being primarily remembered as LeBron’s first return to Miami following his departure for Cleveland, but was an early indicator of the success that was on the horizon for Irving and his sneakers.

Worn by: Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers were destined for one of the most legendary NBA seasons in 2015-2016, when they beat the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals after falling behind 1-3 in the series. The two teams faced off on Christmas Day earlier in the season, with the Warriors winning 89-83. Irving netted 13 points in that game, although he’d go onto be the hero of the Finals. His sneakers that day also showed that Nike and the young point guard were onto something, with a turquoise-and-grey pair of his Kyrie 2s that also dropped at retail. They may be slightly forgotten in Irving’s sneaker canon, but they laid the foundation for his best season to date.

Worn by: LeBron James

Sneaker brands have gotten better over the years at slowing the flow of leaked products, but it’s still pretty rare to have a genuine on-court debut of a sneaker. But Nike and LeBron James achieved just that with this Christmas Day unveiling of the Nike LeBron 14, which came nearly 15 months after the retail launch of its predecessor. The model, and this colorway in particular, featured a design reminiscent of the Acronym x Nike Air Presto collection that had dropped a few months prior and landed atop many “Sneaker of the Year” lists by the time of this unveil. James, who’d primarily been wearing the Soldier 10, made the debut count too, racking up 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists in a 109-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors—the team he’d just beaten in the NBA Finals the previous season.

Worn by: LeBron James

What if I told you that a kid working in the stockroom of New York City sneaker store would go onto design high-profile sneakers for the best NBA player in the league? Such is the case for Ronnie Fieg and his collection for LeBron James that first released in 2017. The sneakers, which had a full zipper up the front, helped reposition James’ sneakers as “cool” again in the NBA, much like his Christmas pair from 2009, after a few seasons when his signature line had been on the downturn. Nike gave it a knit upper, but Fieg reworked it for James and also lent his streetwear cool to the NBA superstar. Big sneakers for a big man. The Cavs once again lost to the Warriors that day, and would get swept in the NBA Finals, signaling James’ departure for Los Angeles. But he had regained something in his footwear line that he’d desperately been missing.

Worn by: P.J. Tucker

The Houston Rockets' P.J. Tucker has firmly cemented his status as the sneaker king of the NBA, but 2018 is the first year he's claimed title to the best Christmas sneakers. Part of that reason is that he just hasn't had that many opportunities. The NBA typically reserves it's holiday schedule for the best teams and the biggest markets, and Tucker's many seasons with the Phoenix Suns meant he spent those Christmases with off days. And since the league perpetually overlooks the Toronto Raptors, that means his two seasons with the Rockets were his only chances to show out on the biggest stage. He took full advantage of his 2018 opportunity, even up against major competition. Not only did he manage to upstage LeBron James' "SuperBron" 16 and the return of #LeBronWatch, he did so wearing one of the most exclusive pairs from the vast archive of LeBron PEs: a Family Guy-themed Nike LeBron 6. 

Worn by: PJ Tucker

For a second straight season, the NBA sneaker king reigns supreme on Christmas Day. PJ Tucker actually laced up a number of sneakers on Christmas, including the forthcoming Nike KD XII “Aunt Pearl” and a pair of Kobe IV Protros. But it was what Tucker started the game with that caught everyone’s eye. The Rockets’ wing warmed up and began the first quarter in the incredibly rare Air Jordan IV “Wahlburgers” that currently have an average resale price of $11,000 on StockX. Tucker has made himself must watch sneakerhead TV due to his incredible collection, so when all eyes were on his feet on the 25th, he delivered. Sadly, his Rockets didn’t as they lost to a struggling Warriors club.

Worn by: Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis’ footwear choice for Christmas Day in 2020 was filled with significance. The NBA season had begun just three days prior, on Dec. 22, thanks to a schedule shortened by COVID restrictions which were finally beginning loosen. It was also the first Christmas Day game for the Lakers following the passing of Kobe Bryant. In his honor, Davis laced up the shoe to to pay respect to Bryant on the 10th anniversary its debut. Davis would go on to say that "[the best] Christmas shoe is definitely the Grinches. I don’t think no one can argue that." No arguments here.

Worn by: LeBron James

Remember when Nike Basketball had some of the most exciting special editions going in sneakers? Remember when Kanye West (as he was known back then) was still making music we could celebrate? Those eras may feel distant now, but they reverberated in the 2020s when Nike brought back the “Watch the Throne” Nike LeBron 9, a one-time friends and family colorway from 2011 that re-emerged as a retail release in 2022. As Nike made that LeBron 9 widely available, it also rolled out a teaser of a similar pair of LeBron 8s that’s hardly been seen since. LeBron James himself wore the shoe for Christmas 2021, donning the wild Nike LeBron 8 that looked to be a riff on the “Watch the Throne” theme, this one blasted with significantly more gold.

Worn by: Ja Morant

2022 marked a lot of firsts for Memphis Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant. Not only did he appear in the first Christmas Day game in the franchise’s history, but he got to debut his first signature shoe, the Nike Ja 1. The Swoosh billed Morant as its “first Gen Z” signature athlete, and in that game against the Golden State Warriors, he put up an impressive 36 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and had eight assists in 41 minutes of action. Not a bad first impression.

Worn by: LeBron James

For his 18th appearance playing on Christmas Day, LeBron James broke out an unreleased colorway of his current Nike LeBron 21 signature shoe for the historic matchup between his Los Angeles Lakers squad and the Boston Celtics. The last time these two teams faced off on the holiday was back in 2008, when the league introduced Christmas jerseys. Those special uniforms have been missing since ‘17, but James is doing his part to bring them back—before his 2023 Christmas game, he campaigned on X (formerly known as Twitter) and asked the league to make Christmas jerseys happen again.