Has Nike lost its ‘cool’ factor? LeBron James weighs in

LeBron James has still not picked which NBA team he will play for next. In one of his first public appearances since telling the Los Angeles Lakers that he would become a free agent, James, appearing at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan Summit, told Boardroom’s Rich Kleinman that he will be playing somewhere else and that he “won’t hold you guys up too much longer.”

But what is not up in the air is what shoes he’ll be wearing, with James’ storied career being closely tied to Nike.

That relationship dates to 2003, when James signed a 7-year, $90 million endorsement contract with Nike before joining the NBA, which still stands as the largest rookie shoe contract in basketball history.

In 2015, James signed a lifetime deal with Nike that is reportedly the largest single-athlete guarantee in the company’s history. In 2021, Nike unveiled the Lebron James Innovation Center at the company’s Beaverton, Oregon headquarters, a 700,000-square-foot facility focused on breakthroughs in sports science.

However, while James has continued to play at an all-star level — he was named to the NBA All-Star team for a record twenty-second consecutive time this past season — Nike has slumped.

In 2026, Nike’s stock is down 30%. Shares are down more than 70% from its high in November 2021.

Nike found success during the pandemic under CEO John Donahoe, who heavily focused the business on direct selling and e-commerce, but its move away from wholesalers caused it to struggle as upstart competitors like Hoka and On Running started to take market share.

While Donahoe led the company through a broad restructuring plan aimed at reducing costs and shedding workforce so it could invest in growth areas, the strategy didn’t pan out.

In October 2024, three-decade Nike veteran Elliott Hill came out of retirement to take over as CEO, aiming to focus on a strategy that would recenter the company on innovation and rebuilding trust with consumers and athletes.

“My first day on the job, my slide said two things: we’re a sport company, and we’re a growth company,” Hill told CNBC in October 2025. “When we grow sport, we grow the overall marketplace. And when that happens, I like our chances of growing.”

To date, the strategy hasn’t been a slam dunk. Its most recent quarter saw the company beat Wall Street expectations and grow revenue in North America, but sales in Greater China and other parts of the world have continued to slump.

“Overall, the results aren’t there yet,” Hill said on a call with analysts. “We know we’re not living up to our full potential, particularly in Nike sportswear and Jordan streetwear, where sell-through remains challenged, impacting both current discounting and future order books.”

“Being a part of Nike, there’s a responsibility that I feel…