words & images_Luis Sanchez
Yesterday afternoon marked the long awaited opening of the House of Hoops Miami and most importantly, the debut release of the all new Nike LeBron 8. The "South Beach" LeBron 8 arrived in amazing fashion as Mr. LeBron James himself was in the building to introduce the Miami inspired colorway. Swapping out the usual New York Yankees cap for a classic teal Florida Marlins cap, James took over the all new House of Hoops and made it the James house, with posters and blown up images of the king dressing the store for the historic event. Also on hand for the event were 100 Miami area school kids, each being rewarded for their academic excellence and talents on the court.
But of course, the center of attention was the all new Nike LeBron 8. James' second signature model designed by one of Nike Basketball's best, Jason Petrie. Breaking everyone's heart with his Miami Dolphins-inspired LeBron VII Low, Petrie was also on hand with LeBron to elaborate on the LeBron 8, as well as give us a little insight on the inspiration for the debut "South Beach" colorway.
The bright lights and atmosphere of Miami best describe the "South Beach" LeBron 8 according to Petrie and James, who seemed like a young kid on Christmas the moment he walked in to the all new House of Hoops Miami. As the young kids stared in awe at "The King," LeBron gave out several autographed Nike basketballs and also shared the amazing moment with his Twitter followers, taking a Twitpic of the crowd at one point.
It was truly an amazing grand opening for the HoH Miami, to say the least. An all new model, in a perfect Miami-esque colorway marks a new beginning for LeBron in the city of Miami and on the court for the Heat. Check below for a photo recap of everything that went down, along with a look around the House of Hoops Miami and a few unexpected gems that arrived for the big day.
