Oregon Guard Takai Simpkins Shows off Ducks LeBron 23 PE

It pays to be the hometown team.

We’re pretty sure Oregon Ducks guard Takai Simpkins saw that we awarded Duke the NCAA sneaker chip last week, and hit us with a quick reminder that Oregon is still in Nike’s backyard, pulling out an insane pair of Nike LeBron 23 Oregon PEs that might just be the cleanest college exclusive we’ve seen all season.

The Nike LeBron 23 Oregon Ducks PE brings back memories of The King’s days as a Sprite spokesman, starting with a yellow base on the upper covered in subtle repeating duckwing prints and a metallic green shell covering the toe and reinforced side panels. The mini Swooshes at the lateral toe are done in grey to match the large “O” logos on the heels. The outsole completes the two-tone theme with a return to bright yellow.

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the PE sneakers Nike sent to Duke, USC, and a few other top-tier NCAA programs, but after an incredible football season full of Nike collabs, Oregon’s basketball program has been quiet about its exclusive sneaker rotation this season. That doesn’t mean the school hasn’t been laced, though, and in addition to the LeBron 23, Simpkins has been seen wearing an Oregon PE colorway of the Kobe 5 Protro, with teammates rocking white and green KD 18s and Sabrina 3s.

Like the rest of Oregon’s Nike PEs, these LeBron 23s are exclusive to the Ducks basketball team, so you definitely won’t be able to cop this pair. There’s always next year, though, college eligibility is crazy these days, start working on that jumper now. For all the latest NCAA PE sneaker news, download the Sole Retriever mobile app.

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com