Truth is, with the bad press the Canucks already tend to get, they could probably do without a tangible connection to much-maligned Miami Heat star Lebron James. As it stands, there are already several similarities.

• Both are highly skilled, but much-maligned for their arrogance.
• Both have a reputation for choking and recently lost their respective finals to teams many felt were lesser, largely on the strength of one virtuoso performance.
• Both play with centres drafted by management in Toronto.
• Both rely heavily on power plays.
• Both are booed the moment they enter the Staples Center.
• As Thomas Drance observed yesterday, both have a keen interest in South Beach, albeit one as a place to take their talent and the other as a place to take their talent from.
• Both have a history of publicly embarrassing teams in Ohio.
• Both travel a lot.
• Lebron used to shout “King James!” when he dunked a basketball in high school. The Sedins have been known to shout “Wonder twin powers activate!” whenever they score.

Okay, that last one’s not true. But the others are. And so is this one: both share inspiration for a killer pair of basketball shoes, the Nike iD Lebron 9.

Oh man. Want.

Sadly, I can’t afford custom baller shoes. Some days I wish I worked in a more lucrative profession, like burglary.

The shoes come courtesy of LRJ23.com, a blog solely dedicated to Lebron James sneaker designs (specific enough for you?). ABT, the gentlemen who runs this blog, is a huge Canucks fan, which led him to make a custom pair of Lebron’s kicks in Canuck colours. They are, as the kids say, sick and dope.

Have another look at the prototypes.

Honestly, hometown bias aside, those are simply beautiful shoes. The Canucks don’t get enough credit for having one of the best colour palettes in the NHL. Can you imagine these bad boys in Avalanche burgundy and steel blue? You have to feel for Colorado’s graphic designers – working with those colours is not unlike painting with dog vomit.

Check out the post at LRJ23.com for more shots of the shoes you wish you had.

s/t to Canucks Army for the find.