There are press conferences. Red carpets. Back-stage passes.

In the world of 24/7 all-access athletes, we’re talking limitless opportunities for you to hustle, beg, borrow, lie, cheat and steal your way to somewhere you really want to be. Especially if it’s one of your idols that you’re just dying to see.

It usually costs a ton of money - or a favor that’s going to cost just as much on the back end.

And it rarely lives up to the advanced billing.

So we’re changing it up.

At High Noon Eastern - that’s 12:00 PM EDT for those of you with really fancy watches - Nike is teaming up with the 2009 NBA MVP LeBron James and Nike Performance Footwear Designer Jason Petrie (he’s the mastermind behind all of LeBron’s sick kicks) for a LIVE webcast.

Added bonus: Saturday Night Live comedian Kenan Thompson is hosting.

They’ll be chillin’ in Akron, Ohio at the Ed Davis Community Center, where LBJ balled as a kid. But you can tune in from just about anywhere around the globe.

They’ll be discussing their latest innovative design collaboration, the Nike Air Max LeBron VII. We’re calling it the official unveiling - and since it’s our first performance basketball shoe with a full-length Max Air cushioning system, this one’s extra special.

Like the man who dons them on the court, it’s a ground-breaking, era-defining work of performance art.

But that’s not even the best part.

See, LeBron is a man of the people. So as long as you’ve got an Internet connection, you’ve got a shot to ask The King a question. In real time. As fast as your modem can process the feed.

To get real-time coverage of the event, follow Nike Basketball on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nikebasketball. Tweets will be hash-tagged #LeBronVII.

Photos will be available shortly after the webcast ends on Facebook. So become a fan and holler at us there, too: http://www.facebook.com/nikebasketball.

Oh, yeah. One last thing:

If you want the best shot at getting your question answered by LeBron, pre-register for the webcast here: http://nikebasketball.deferointeractive.tv/portal.php.

The King awaits. Ball’s in your court.