Nike LeBron 12 Shoe Revealed: Pics and Release Date Info

LeBron James' announcement that he was returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers was notable for just how unremarkable it seemed. No fuss. No press conference. No massive parade. Only a Sports Illustrated first-person column. For someone who has quite the history of extravagant announcements, it was gloriously understated.    

Well, Nike has decided to follow in the same suit for the latest iteration of his signature shoe. Only the complete and total opposite.

Revealed Tuesday at the Nike Campus in Oregon, the LeBron 12s came with a boisterous presentation that featured a multitude of stats about its namesake and the intricate revealing of some eye-opening colorways. According to SoleCollector.com, the LeBron 12s will launch on Oct. 11—not-so-coincidentally the day James' Cavaliers play an exhibition against his old team, the Miami Heat, in Brazil.

The LeBron 12s are the first iteration of his signature line to come with such a starry launch in recent memory. As noted by Nick Birdsong of AL.com, the LeBron 8s playoff edition were the last release to feature a media-heavy event.

With a greater emphasis on performance than in previous years, Sole Collector noted the introduction of the hexagonal-shaped Zoom Air—which is designed to create responsiveness to an individual's feet:

Nike Basketball provided more details on the sole's importance:

Performance has been a question in recent years for Nike's LeBron releases. Often heavier than a typical basketball shoe, even James complained of discomfort with last year's model. After fans and others noticed that James was rarely wearing the LeBron 11s—almost to the point of abandoning them entirely—he had Nike "redefine" the release.

"I just want to be able to wear them," James told ESPN.com's Darren Rovell and Michael Wallace last December. "It has been a frustrating process. But obviously, I know that Nike wants to do what's best. They're not going to put me out there in harm's way. So we're redefining the shoe to fit what's best for my foot."

James indicated the 12s give him far more comfort than in years past—especially as he looks to stay healthy going forward, per Jacques Slade:

Accommodating LeBron was one of the growing themes of the presentation, which featured numerous stats and an ongoing game of trivia on Nike Basketball's Twitter feed. Nike researcher Matt Nurse and the folks from NBA stats were on hand to present little factoids about how James compares to other athletes and to explain the science behind the shoe.

Included: LeBron and Manny Pacquiao might want to measure who can generate more force with his hands:

"

A @KingJames dunk can be more powerful than a boxer's punch, according to @Sport_Science. #LEBRON12 Dunk Force. http://t.co/xAMGrICiMR

— Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) September 16, 2014"

Trevor Edwards, president of the Nike brand, offered reverent quotes of the shoe's namesake, per Heidi Burgett of Nike PR:

As for the shoe itself, Nike introduced seven colorways, each of which came with its own name and special meaning. James' own time spent designing the shoe in Oregon serves as inspiration for the LeBron 12 "NSRL," which stands for Nike Sports Research Lab. The shoe has a bright teal base, with grey, black and orange accentuations and will be the launch-day release.

Six other names were released, via NikeInc.com: Heart of a Lion, Dunk Force, Instinct, Six Meridians, Trillion Dollar Man and Data. The aforementioned boxing statistic is the impetus for the "Dunk Forces," which will be available Nov. 11. In all, each of the seven colorways introduced Tuesday will be released before Christmas. The NSRL and Heart of a Lion colorways come out in October; Dunk Force, Instinct and Meridian in November; and Trillion Dollar Man and Data in December.

“This is Nike at its best: we take the insights from a world-class athlete in LeBron James to inform forward-thinking designs and create the most innovative shoes,” Kelly Hibler, Nike Basketball VP of Footwear, said in a release. “We’ve combined the art and science of engineering in the LEBRON 12 to advance the game of basketball’s best player.”

Bright colors seemed to be the motif of the LeBron 12 release. Nike Basketball provided an Instagram shot of the seven colorways that will be released in the coming months—most of which feature nonstandard color matchings:

In many ways, Tuesday's presentation felt like a rebranding of the LeBron series. More precision. Better performance. The buzzwords swarmed Nike's hallway like buzzards. 

It felt like an appropriately flashy introduction—almost a make-up for the largely quiet return to his hometown. When James spoke of why he returned to Cleveland after these long four years, he did so with reverence for his city and in adoration of Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving, who is fresh off an MVP performance at the FIBA World Cup.

This is the dawning of a new era for LeBron. Slimmed down frame, new teammates and a new shoe line that better matches his on-court performance.

Like the new and improved iteration of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the LeBron 12s are sure to live up to their prodigious hype.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter