LeBron James 1st Draft of Signature Shoe ... Total Nike FAIL

LeBron James' sneaker line started off on the wrong foot ... and now we know just HOW WRONG.

This pic of the early version of the LeBron 1s just surfaced, proving Nike stuck to that old adage -- if at first you screw it up royally ... get back to freakin' work! 

The red version is the shoe that was eventually rolled out right after King James was drafted #1 by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.

Thank you, Nike for getting it right -- and thanks BSO for pointing out the classic shoe trivia.