The latest version of LeBron James‘ signature shoe has started to hit retail, and by all accounts this appears to be the best edition yet.

James tells the story of the shoe’s design in the video above, and we have a photo gallery below for a more detailed look.

From the official release:

“Inspired by the creation and beauty of a diamond, the metaphoric comparisons run parallel to James’ career. Diamonds form between the earth’s crust and super-heated core, where intensity changes the structure of carbon over time. Under extreme pressure and temperature carbon then becomes diamonds.

“Heat, time and pressure are three things James has faced and act as the shoe’s inspiration. Although a refined diamond is beautiful, it takes work to get there – it starts as a dull rock. Over time, it gains clarity and sharpens with multiple facets.

“Each colorway of the LEBRON X has a unique story. The blue diamond colorway is symbolic of the blue tint diamonds gain from interaction with electricity, which can be paralleled to James’ electric style of play. The cutting Jade colorway is inspired by the Chinese art of cutting jade using diamonds. The story continues throughout the season with multiple colorways linked to the diamond.

“The LEBRON X+ is Nike’s first signature basketball shoe featuring Nike+ Basketball technology and is available in select colorways and in three versions: the fully loaded LEBRON X+ Sport Pack – which includes the shoe and the Nike+ Sport Kit, a Nike+ Basketball enabled version with NIKE+ technology embedded in the midsole, and a non-enabled version. The interactive experience allows users to track in-game activity with NIKE+ enabled shoes and later review, analyze, and share that information using the Nike+ Basketball app.”

The Blue Diamond edition dropped today, with the full Sports Pack retailing for $270. Let us know which colorway is your favorite and whether or not you plan to pick up a pair in the comments.

Duncan Steel | Elite.