Since his teenage years in northeast Ohio, an ever-intensifying celebrity has surrounded LeBron James. Almost all of it swirls from the otherworldliness of his ability on the basketball court. But some comes from what he does off the court too. The multi-time NBA MVP has more endorsement deals than can be said in a breath, several roles in blockbuster movies, his own HBO show, an investment in a popular pizza chain—the list of his accomplishments seems to be as endless as the comments section of a James YouTube highlight reel. And now, perhaps among his most lasting off-the-court legacy has come with Nike’s newly unveiled LeBron James Innovation Center.
AD100 architect Tom Kundig (second to left) standing outside the new LeBron James Innovation Center.
Located on Nike’s World Headquarters near Beaverton, Oregon, the 750,000 square-foot building is where the brand plans to create the future in sports science, both in terms of data analytics and apparel. Much like the athlete that it’s named after, the structure stands out among its peers. While architecture is a static enterprise, there doesn’t appear to be much static about this building. “When I saw [the building] for the first time,” LeBron James says, “I was looking up, and it felt like it just kept getting higher, higher, and higher.” Many NBA opponents have likely said the same thing about James’s vertical leap.
LeBron James walking outside the new building named after him on Nike’s campus in Oregon.
