Imagine saying something so out of pocket that LeBron James fires back with a sneaker about it. In February of 2018, Fox News host Laura Ingraham responded to a LeBron James tweet by calling James a “dumb jock” and coining the now-infamous line “shut up and dribble.” LeBron, rightfully, took that personally, as did Nike. That same month, Nike and LeBron’s media company UNINTERRUPTED launched the “More Than An Athlete” campaign, empowering athletes to use their platforms to speak out beyond sports. Ingraham’s comment is now the subject of the next Nike LeBron 23 release, shown here via official images.
The gallery below shows a mostly grey colorway featuring a textured fabric upper and a steel grate pattern on the crown. The real highlight lives on the heel, where Nike includes text reading “Still Talking,” with letters crossed out to read “Still King.” Semi-translucent blue outsoles cap off the design underfoot.
There’s a good deal of ambiguity surrounding what the mostly grey colorway might symbolize, but it’s possibly a reference to the default grey profile picture on social media platforms, a preferred choice among users whose sole purpose is to troll in the comments. The sneaker also reportedly takes inspo from LeBron collecting his third All-Star MVP award in 2018, when he wore a monochrome black and white Cavs jersey. Another potential reference is the grey suit LeBron wore during the opening of the I Promise School in Akron, although that moment came a few months after the Fox News debacle. In any case, the timing of the shoe’s release roughly coincides with Ingraham’s infamous segment.
The Nike LeBron 23 “Shut Up And Dribble” is set to release February 6th, 2026 in adult and grade school sizes (pictured below).
