Nike’s Warning Label Collection is the Best All-Star Sneaker Pack in Years

Fourteen years ago, Nike Basketball changed the game. Headlined, of course, by the iconic “Galaxy” Foamposites, Nike’s 2012 All-Star Weekend sneaker collection featured four space-themed colorways of its highest-profile basketball footwear. “Galaxy” Foams were joined by KD 4s and Kobe 7s of the same moniker, and “Big Bang” LeBron 9s. Nike has been chasing that high ever since, with packs like 2025’s “Black Label” and high profile one-off PEs like LeBron’s Deion Sanders hybrids.

This year, the Swoosh dropped a massive scale “Warning Label” collection spanning the entirety of its signature basketball line as well as a number of its in-line performance footwear and a number of special makeups. While it might not reach the level of 2012, “Warning Label” is undoubtedly the brand’s best work in the 14 years since.

At retail, Nike dropped shimmering metallic versions of the LeBron 23, KD 18, Giannis Freak 7, Book 2, Ja 3, Sabrina 3, A’One, G.T. Future, G.T. Cut 4 for Victor Wembanyama, Kobe 3 Low Protro, and a matching Air Force 1. Each pair came with a duo of large metal lace charms to represent each signature athlete the likes of a lion’s head for LeBron, a grim reaper for Kevin Durant, and an alien with the G.T. Cut 4 for Wemby. Each pair came housed in special briefcase-inspired packaging with molded cutouts of the shoe and the respective player’s logo.

Nike hardly stopped there. Throughout the weekend, a number of special “Warning Labels” either hit the hardwood or shock dropped. At Nike’s “The Shaw” takeover at Crenshaw High School in Inglewood, 300 pairs of “Warning Label” Fragment x Nike Book 2s sold out as fast as the line could move. Devin Booker and Hiroshi Fujiwara were both on hand to sign the pairs that featured a more premium construction compared to the wider Fragment Book 2 drop as well as metallic silver and blue Swooshes.

During All-Star Saturday Night, Nike’s next signature star, Cade Cunningham, debuted a “Warning Label” colorway of the brand new Nike S.T. Charge, a brand new silhouette inspired by outdoor hooping in China. The pair featured Cunningham’s signature star logo on the tongue which is easily one of the best signature logos in the game today.

Jason Williams’ return to the Swoosh was announced during All-Star Weekend as well, headlined by the return of the Hyperflight, a shoe White Chocolate made popular back in the early 2000s. A purple pair with J Will and 55 on the tongue and heel dropped in LA, but of course, he also got a “Warning Label” PE of his own decked out in metallic gold.

However, the highlight of the “Warning Label” Weekend came when Jalen Brunson hit the floor for the second game of the round robin All-Star tournament Sunday night. At first glance it looked like he was wearing the Kobe 3 Low Protros that dropped during the weekend, but it was a special promo pair that shimmered gold on its overlays instead of the standard purple.

Anywhere you turned in Los Angeles, you saw the Nike “Warning Label” collection. Whether it was people lining up to cop pairs at Foot Locker’s massively packed activation, all over the city on posters and billboards, or on the Intuit Dome court. It was clear Nike had a specific goal in mind with the design of the pack: eye-catching silhouettes that were instantly recognizable from anywhere inside an arena. From my vantage point during the All-Star Game, it was hard to look at the court without noticing the shimmer of “Warning Label.”

This pack might not have been the single best release of the weekend (I think that honor goes to the Union x Fragment x Air Jordan 1 trio), but I do think it is fair to say that “Warning Label” both won the weekend in Los Angeles and is the best All-Star pack since 2012.