Hierarchical nickel cobalt oxide (NCO) microspheres comprised of nanoscale mesoporous thorn arrays are developed as superior rate high capacity anodes in this work, i.e. 1063.3 and 860 mA h g⁻¹ at 180 and 4500 mA g⁻¹, respectively. Stoichiometric urea serves as a self-template to favor the self-assembly of well-organized NiCo(OH)₂CO₃ thorn microsphere precursors under an optimized hydrothermal reaction. The dispersed multi-phase hybrid crystal structure and the favorable specific surface area obtained during the controlled pyrolysis of NiCo(OH)₂CO₃ microspheres markedly promote the cyclic stability of the single phase Ni_1.5Co_1.5O₄.