words // Nick DePaula
images // Steve Mullholand
By now, you probably know what an Air Max bag looks like on the side of a shoe. There are cyllindrical pillars, you can see through it (which is fun at times), and the compression of said bag in theory aims to offer up impact protection for the forces of running and basketball.
Back in the fall of 2009, which is shockingly five years ago now, Nike Basketball took a page from the Running silo and introduced its first-ever full Air Max 360 unit. There weren't any TPU encasing or sidewall wraps this time, just a full-length, unencumbered bag of Air sitting underneath the seventh model of LeBron James' signature series.
At the time, Nike even boasted that the new bag had up to 80% more Air in it than past units, which is obviously hard to validate, but still impressive. As you know, three of the next four LeBron models would go on to include full-length units of 360, both in traditional Air and Zoom forms. As the brand celebrates Air Max Day, take a look back at some angles of the LeBron VII's Air Max bag that take you closer than ever before.
