The All-Time Greatest Nike Basketball Brand-Licensing Colabs

LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker are all dominating forces on their own, but even they know that teamwork is the name of the game. In lieu of joint projects with independent designers or longstanding sneaker boutiques, Nike have made a habit of calling on the world’s most recognisable brands to join their NBA stars on the hardwood.

Whether it’s a lemon-flavoured soft drink or classic American muscle cars, Nike Basketball have forged tons of strong partnerships for their athletes to continue scoring buckets with fans. Scroll through for a look at the all-time greatest brand-licensing colabs with the Swoosh’s top-tier ballers.

Nike Zoom LeBron 3 Low ‘Sprite’ (2006)

We might not be sticking to our own rules by including a Friends and Family sneaker on this list, but we’re certainly obeying our thirst. Before brand-licensing colabs became a frequent occurrence for Nike’s biggest NBA stars, LeBron James was the first to sport another brand’s logo on his signature shoe. James signed his endorsement deal with the soft drink brand Sprite during his rookie season in 2003, and in 2006 that partnership was honoured on an exclusive version of the Zoom LeBron 3 Low.

Taking inspiration from Sprite’s logo at the time, the silhouette took on the brand’s colour scheme, featuring a white leather upper with a blue midsole and yellow accents. Additional hits of green also landed throughout, while the lemon-lime-flavoured soda’s logo appeared on the heel, insole, and translucent outsole.

Although this pair never arrived on shelves for the public to imbibe, it sparked several other Sprite-inspired iterations throughout James’ signature line, going on to become a fan-favourite colourway. To this day, only the LeBron 3 edition bears the soft drink’s branding, and it’s likely to stay that way given the King’s current partnership with PepsiCo.

Nike KD 4 ‘Nerf’ (2011)

Even across 19 silhouettes and countless iterations of each signature shoe, Kevin Durant’s Nike KD 4 ‘Nerf’ still stands as one of the greatest releases from his longstanding partnership with the Swoosh. The nearly-seven-foot-tall NBA star may be nicknamed the Slim Reaper for his lethal scoring ability on-court, but at heart, he’s just a kid that grew up with a love for hooping.

Inspired by a birthday wish for a Nerf basketball hoop so Durant could shoot around his house, Nike officially partnered with Hasbro on the KD 4. The low-top, strapped silhouette took on the colour scheme of a 90s version of the plastic backboard, sporting a mix of blue and grey tones with neon pops of red and green, alongside speckled and spray-painted touches. Nerf branding appeared on the tongue and insole, with Durant’s initials and jersey number taking on the same stylised font – but the best part was the themed packaging, which included its very own KD-branded Nerf rim and mini basketball.

This special release would go on to receive a more widely available retro in 2024, but the original version will always be remembered as the slam dunk moment in KD and Nike’s joint lineage.

Nike Kyrie 2 ‘Ky-Rispy Kreme’ (2016)

Kyrie Irving and Nike’s partnership may not have ended on the greatest terms, but for a while there, the powerhouse duo we’re churning out some of the best releases that the Swoosh’s basketball division had to offer. Many of their most memorable projects ended up being brand-licensing collaborations, and the Krispy Kreme-themed Kyrie 2 was a glazed highlight.

While the colourway didn’t make any reference to the doughnut chain’s baked treats, it did nail the signature white, red, and green colour scheme the brand is known for. Perhaps even better than the sneaker was the doughnut box-style packaging that it arrived in, with the clear panel on the lid providing a sneak peek at these sweet heaters.

To sprinkle it all off, the kicks were sold in key locations across the US out of a ‘Ky-Rispy Kreme’ truck, served fresh and ready to hit the hardwood.

Nike Kyrie 4 ‘Cereal’ Pack (2018)

If you thought Kyrie Irving’s Krispy Kreme colab wasn’t sugar-filled enough, just two years later, Irving and Nike recruited American manufacturer General Mills to pour three of their breakfast cereals onto the Kyrie 4 silhouette. Taking equal parts inspiration from the boxes and the snacks inside them, the ‘Cereal’ Pack was divided between Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Kix.

Each colourway resembled its respective morning treat to a T – from the debossed star and clover-shaped marshmallows on the ‘Lucky Charms’ iteration, to the cinnamon-swirled patterns on the upper of the ‘Cinnamon Toast Crunch’. General Mills stamped their logo on the right heel of every pair, and each cereal’s emblem appeared on the tongue of the left shoe.

Completing the sweet designs were graphic insoles featuring images of their respective cereals, making each iteration feel like a bowl of nostalgia served alongside your Saturday morning cartoons.

Nike Zoom LeBron 4 ‘Fruity Pebbles’ (2024)

Before Kyrie ever dreamed of getting cereal-based colourways onto his signature shoe, LeBron had already made it happen – a full 12 years earlier.

Unlike the King’s F&F colab with Sprite on the Zoom LeBron 3 Low, the 2006 Zoom LeBron 4 ‘Fruity Pebbles’ was a player exclusive inspired by the colourful and crispy breakfast cereal. It certainly felt like an official partnership, given the distinct cereal pattern along the midsole and lining that mimicked Post Consumer Brands’ fruity offering – but there weren’t any relevant logos to be found.

The original PE would go on to inspire a similar take on the LeBron 15, and materialise as an actual colab on the LeBron 19 Low, but the one fans were eagerly awaiting was the public launch of the Zoom LeBron 4 in 2024. Fruity Pebbles branding was included behind the tongue and on the insole of the retro, and Kith even joined in on the sugary fun by producing a limited run of special packaging for the release, which included a co-branded box and cereal bowl.

It’s safe to say the official collaboration would have never gone down if Nike hadn’t just yabba-dabba-dooed their own version all those years ago.

Nike Book 1 ‘Chevy’ (2025)

Devin Booker has received what seems like a countless number of special iterations across both his signature shoes, but one of the pairs most personally meaningful to the Phoenix Suns star was his collaboration with Chevrolet.

Having grown up in Michigan with his father and grandfather as avid classic car collectors, Booker’s connection to Chevy runs deep – especially given its headquarters are based within the same state. Upon being drafted into the NBA, Booker had a decent chunk of change to his name and was able to start building his own vintage car collection, which he has affectionately titled ‘The Library’.

For his first project with Chevy, Booker looked to his Chevy Blazer as inspiration, decking out the Book 1 in a ‘Dark Gold Leaf’ colourway to match the corresponding vehicle with subtle Chevrolet branding and logos to boot. This motorised makeup was paired with two takes on the aptly titled Blazer Low, but the Book 1’s build felt most similar to the revved-up truck it was referencing.

Since this initial linkup, Booker has gone on to lace up a 1996 Impala SS-inspired Book 1 PE, and is now in the midst of a new Chevy collection on the Book 2, with three pairs tied to different eras of the Impala. At this rate, Booker will need to compose his collection of Nike x Chevy releases into ‘The Library Part II’.

Nike Ja 2 ‘Kool-Aid’ (2025)

Fresh Portland Trail Blazers star Ja Morant has risen through the ranks repping one of Nike Basketball’s most popular signature lineups. While vibrant colourways and new colabs flooded in on both the Ja 3 and the recently unveiled Ja 4, the athlete’s first silhouette to land a brand-licensing partnership was the Ja 2. If Morant had any barriers left to break in earning respect for his on-court kicks, then 2025’s wall-smashing colab with Kool-Aid was the one to do it.

Reminiscing on quenching his thirst with Kool-Aid during hot summers at his grandmother’s house, Morant and Nike adapted some of the hooper’s favourite flavours onto the Ja 2. The ‘Mixed Berry’ iteration was the most refreshing, bringing two different colour gradients to each shoe, with raised droplets and cracked lateral graphics to really paint the scene for the Kool-Aid Man’s grand entrance. Completing the design came an illustration of the mascot crashing through the front of the tongue, with his trademark ‘Ohhh Yeah!’ catchphrase stitched onto the opposite side.

The Ja 2 also received a ‘Tropical Punch’-flavoured take followed by a continuation of the partnership on the Ja 3, but there’s yet to be a release as sweet as that first pair.

Nike Book 2 ‘McDonald’s’ (2026)

Using nostalgia for one’s younger days as a guide for which brand-licensing colabs to seek out is a go-to for NBA stars, and Devin Booker continues to plumb genuinely fond memory for his on-foot connections. A McDonald’s partnership may sound like a cash-grab on paper, but Booker’s ties to the brand stem from his spot as one of the top high-school ballers to partake in the annual McDonald’s All-American Game.

Looking to factor in Booker’s current home base for the joint project, the Book 2 ‘McDonald’s’ colourway steered away from the predictable red-and-yellow colour palette in favour of a reference to the brand’s one-of-kind Sedona store, which features turquoise arches. This same blue-green shade served as the accent colour on the silhouette’s ‘Sand Drift’ base, as well as the McDonald’s logo positioned near the heel.

That seasoning of Mickey D’s trivia flipped these from a somewhat lackluster offering at face value to one of the most unique releases in Booker’s signature lineup.

Curious to see the latest sneaker from Nike’s basketball division? Check out LeBron James’ upcoming 24th signature silhouette.