LeBron James’ latest shoe the LeBron 12 release date has been delayed due to what Nike calls a “small cosmetic issue”. The LeBron 12’s were supposed to be in stores October 11th in the Untied States and released in China yesterday, but of course that didn’t happen. Here’s the statement Nike released on the LeBron 12’s release being delayed:

Product quality is a priority for Nike. Due to a small cosmetic issue with some of the LEBRON 12 shoes we have delayed the initial retail launch that was scheduled for China on October 1, and the global launch that was scheduled for October 11. We will communicate an update on the retail date as soon as possible.

ESPN Insider Darren Rovell says he may know what the cosmetic issue is. He thinks its due to the fact the shoe was in production before LeBron switched numbers from 6 to 23. More from Rovell:

Since the shoes had already gone into production before James switched from the Miami Heat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and subsequently switched numbers from No. 6 to No. 23, one thought is that Nike needs to switch out the “6″ with the “23″ on a visible tag on the back of the shoe. In pictures of the shoe released by Nike last month, the back tag of the shoe says “LRJ.06.” James has frequently been called “LBJ,” but his “R” stands for Raymone, his middle name, which has rarely been referred to publicly.

So basically, it sounds like Nike put the number ‘6’ instead of ’23’ on certain parts of the shoe.

Credit to the original owner for the photo.