There is a bright new star in the sneakerverse, and Anthony Holland followed it all the way to the Footaction store at University Mall in Tampa.
There, on the last Saturday before Christmas, the 24-year-old Tampa landscaper took time from his holiday shopping to pick out two gifts for that special someone - himself.
The first was the NBA's top-selling jersey, a $70 double-XL wine and gold No. 23 Cleveland Cavaliers jersey made by Reebok.
The second was a $110 pair of size 12 white and wine Air Zoom Generation basketball sneakers made by Nike, released that day.
Much to the pleasure of the NBA, the Cavs, Nike, Reebok, Footaction, Coca-Cola, Upper Deck and Juice Batteries, Holland spent a considerable sum on America's newest sports marketing phenom:
LeBron James.
"I like the colors, first of all," Holland said. "And I like him as a player."
Holland isn't alone. James' jersey is the hottest seller in the NBA, with more than 772,000 sold from June 28 to Monday, according to Neil Schwartz, director of marketing for SportScan INFO, which tracks retail sales. Saturday, Nike unveiled the Air Zoom Generation, a limited run of 45,000 shoes bearing James' LJ23 logo that was expected to sell out that day. It is the 19-year-old rookie's first signature shoe, designed by the architects of the original Air Jordan and inspired by James' favorite ride, the Hummer H2. More James shoes and apparel are to come.
The only athlete in the country who sells more jerseys plays football: Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.
James' pro career consists of 28 games. Yet a year removed from his ESPN-televised high school games, he already is one of the most recognizable, and most marketed, sports figures in the nation.
"This early in his career, it really is unprecedented for the impact to be so huge," said Khalid Salaam, associate editor of Slam, the magazine of basketball cool. "There obviously have been other stars, like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. But usually they have to ... play the game first to create the hype, and LeBron has kind of entered it all on his own.
"But the good thing is, so far he's done everything to justify it."
The LeBron effect has been greatest in Cleveland, where he is propelling a renaissance on and off the court for the Cavs, once one of the league's worst franchises in the standings, stands and stores.
In the past four seasons Cleveland averaged 55 losses. Last season it played in front of the league's smallest crowds and was near the bottom in merchandise sales.
James is single-handedly changing that. Averaging 19.2 points, six assists and six rebounds, he has helped lift the Cavs to nine wins in 28 games. Last season the team won 17 games total.
Off the court James has been just as good for the team, said Len Komoroski, president of the Cavs and Gund Arena.
Attendance at Gund Arena has increased from 11,000 to 18,000 a game. Cavs merchandise, thanks to a return to the wine and gold colors, a new logo and the drafting of James, is the third-biggest seller in the NBA. Only the Lakers and Sixers sell more.
The Cavs have more than doubled their TV network, going from three to eight cable stations, and tripled their radio network from five to 15 stations.
That means James, from nearby Akron, has turned the Cavs into a regional draw. They are drawing fans and broadcasting games to more than 15-million people from Ohio to western Pennsylvania to southwestern New York. Group ticket sales and long bus rides to Gund Arena are up. So is road attendance and national air time.
"We'll have 15 national games aired this year," Komoroski said. "Which is basically more than the entire decade prior combined."
It is only the start for James, who reportedly makes more than $100-million in endorsement deals. But how far can he take it? Nike didn't spend $90-million on a kid fresh out of high school for nothing. The company seeks to duplicate the success of its Jordan-branded shoe and clothing lines. Air Jordans still are top sellers.
James' youth connects him to a young audience who can relate to him. His charisma and prowess on the court could help him reach older fans. That combination could give him the best chance to challenge Jordan for merchandising supremacy. But to do so he must do more than flash his young smile and light it up on SportsCenter every night.
For one thing, he must cross into the popular culture and reach a wider, and older, audience. Which is one reason why James headlines Nike's program to combat childhood obesity.
"A lot of it has to do with how Nike promotes him," said John Horan, publisher of the Sporting Goods Intelligence newsletter. "They have him working hard with the physical fitness for kids program, which is an area that has some crossover appeal beyond just the basketball market. It has appeal to soccer moms and all that good stuff."
But all of the marketing hype, cool kicks and clever Nike commercials (his latest stars comedian Bernie Mac.) won't keep James on a Jordan-esque merchandising course unless he and the Cavs win consistently.
"The Cavaliers are still not a very good team," Schwartz said. "So this year he pretty much gets a free pass. But in the long term he has to play on a winner to become a Michael Jordan-type figure.
"Jordan winning six championships made him as big as he is."
Doug Jacobs, a partner at Innovative Sports Marketing, mused that Nike might have an interest in recreating a Magic Johnson-Larry Bird rivalry: James versus Carmelo Anthony, his friend who was drafted third overall by Denver. Both wear Nike. But James' impact will be felt in more than just attendance, ratings and financial statements. Fans remember Jordan's series-winning shot in the 1989 playoffs, Earnest Byner's fumble for the Browns in the 1987 AFC Championship and John Elway's tying drive against the Browns in the 1986 AFC Championship.
"Unfortunately in recent years our athletic success has been marred," Komoroski said. "The shot, the fumble, the drive, one out away from winning the World Series (in 1997). Those are all close-but-not-quite instances in recent Cleveland sports history.
"Now here we have this incredible athlete in our back yard."
