Image via Post
Sugary cereal and Saturday morning cartoons—the combination is one of the simple pleasures for countless children. And while LeBron James may have vastly separated himself from plenty of his peers by growing up to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever live, at one point he was just like many of us. He just wanted his cereal. As the story goes, he preferred to fill his bowl with Fruity Pebbles, the multicolored delicacy endorsed by the Flintstones.
Sometimes in sneakers, these small nuances of a particular person become the central theme for certain colorways that tell stories beyond just using the team colors to match an athlete’s uniform. In LeBron’s case, the colorful cereal has been one of the most notable.
Nike first played with the Fruity Pebbles theme, albeit with no official ties to the Post cereal brand, back in 2006 with a friends and family colorway of the LeBron 4. The pair featured a white and grey upper with a multicolored pattern made to mimic the cereal covering the mudguard. Its limited nature has made the particular pair one of the most coveted from LeBron’s signature line, which is now on its 19th installment. Nike revisited the idea a handful of times in the years that followed. The LeBron 11, 12, and 13 each received grade school releases that were meant to nod to Fruity Pebbles with similar multicolored detailing. The LeBron 15 saw adult-sized pairs release. The theme was executed with colorful Battleknit uppers. On March 7, 2022, National Cereal Day, the latest “Fruity Pebbles” LeBron sneaker hit the market. The LeBron 19 Low, which sold out in minutes upon dropping on Nike SNKRS, has the distinction of being the first pair to be an official collaboration between Nike and Post.
“At Pebbles, we’re really good at talking to kids and getting kids excited about the product. But something we noticed is that we have adult fans and we need to be better at connecting with culture and connecting with them,” says Pebbles senior brand manager Amy Brothers. “This was really our major move in connecting with what we’re now calling ‘Pebbles Heads.’”
She says the connector for the Nike x Pebbles partnership was Warner Brothers, the production company that owns Flintstones and produced Space Jam: A New Legacy. “People love Pebbles and we’re excited to amplify that through partnership. Nike is one of the biggest we could have.”
This LeBron 19 Low takes an approach similar to the original pair of 4s with a mostly white upper. A Fruity Pebbles pattern covers the tongue and heel panel. This time, it’s an actual photo of the red and yellow flakes, not just a rainbow re-creation. Special illustrations of a Flinstone-ized LeBron and a headband-wearing Fred Flintstone don the insoles. “Magic Fruity Pebbles” branding is embroidered on the inner tongues. The Air unit uses Photochromic DCS Technology, which turns it from clear to purple when exposed to ultraviolet light. The side panels and laces glow in the dark. Furthering the partnership, the shoe will also be available for avatars to wear in Nikeland on Roblox beginning on March 14.
And it isn’t just about the shoes. The official collaboration means that there is also some limited edition cereal releasing, Magic Fruity Pebbles. The special boxes are filled with the same pebbles that can be seen on the LeBron 19 Low’s various panels. The yellow flakes nod to LeBron’s current team, while the red represents Fruity Pebbles’ signature color. Like the Air units on the sneaker, the milk turns purple once it hits the cereal in the bowl.
“You’ll see on the front of the box, we were able to Bedrock-ify the Nike logo. It’s carved in stone, which was really fun. It’s a really good collaboration from three really big partners,” says Brothers. “Obviously, doing anything to the Nike logo is a big deal. So, we’re so happy and excited that we got to meld our characters and IPs to work together.”
Boxes of Magic Fruity Pebbles, which even feature unique illustrations of Fred and Barney donning the LeBron 19 Lows, will be much more attainable than the shoe itself. They will be sold at all major grocery retailers while supplies last. To the delight of sneaker fans, each box will also come with a 20 percent off coupon that can be redeemed on nike.com on a single item. In classic cereal fashion, there will be a sweepstakes held that offers fans a chance to win their own pair of the “Fruity Pebbles” LeBron 19 Lows.
LeBron collector Jared Breaker, who goes by @karatekickz23 on Instagram, tells Complex that although most LeBron Lows aren’t necessarily his favorite and he would rather just see the 4s receive a retro release, he is excited to see Nike continue to produce creative projects for the LeBron line.
“I love the fact that they’re trying to do something different with the cereal, promoting it more, giving away free pairs, the exclusive access, because all that does is generate more hype and excitement,” Breaker says. But he hopes that the theme doesn’t become too oversaturated moving forward. “It’s cool that they’re doing a collaboration, but then collaborate with something else. Don’t just keep it at cereal. At some point, you’re going to be beating a dead horse.”
There do appear to be more cereal-themed LeBrons coming. Brothers says to “keep an eye out” regarding future projects between LeBron and the Pebbles brand. Following our conversation, news of a potential “Fruity Pebbles” LeBron 4 retro later this year surfaced. Will it come back complete with the official ties to the brand this time? It’s certainly possible given the new relationship. But there is no way to confirm or deny that just yet.
Either way, it is yet another example of Nike bringing some attention back to LeBron’s signature line with a grail pair from the archive that will surely appease collectors. Look at the recently-released “Watch the Throne” LeBron 9 or “South Beach” LeBron 8 retros as other notable examples of this. The basketball sneaker market may not be the “cool” thing anymore, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t still able to produce some noteworthy moments.
The friends and family ‘Fruity Pebbles’ Nike LeBron 4. Image via Nike
While the nostalgic retro releases are certainly important, the introduction of the LeBron 19 Low through this Pebbles partnership could give some life to new LeBron offerings as well. The man himself has not exactly been fond of wearing the LeBron 19 much in games throughout the current NBA season, which makes it even tougher to convince fans it is worth the $200 price tag. In the All-Star Game, we saw him revisit the LeBron 9 Low, a silhouette that’s 10 years old. In many games, including his recent 56-point explosion to defeat the Golden State Warriors, he has laced up the Ambassador 13, a fine performance shoe obviously but not exactly a silhouette that will be taking over the lifestyle space any time soon.
Unveiling the latest LeBron with a nostalgic collaboration could bring some more eyes back to the line that have since moved on to other styles. Only time will tell. Whether it does or not, the Magic Fruity Pebbles LeBron 19 Low is certainly a childhood dream come to life.
“To have an original pair of my Nike sneakers pay tribute to my favorite cereal growing up is surreal,” says James in a press release. “Putting them on and seeing the colorway come to life is even better.”