Evolution of Jordan’s:
Michael Jordan is one of the most famous and valuable players that the NBA has ever had. He has played for the Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards winning 6 championships during his career. Some of the most popular Jordan’s are the Air Jordan 1s, Air Jordan 2s, Jordan 3s, Jordan 4s, Jordan 5s, Jordan 6s, and all the way to Air Jordan XXXV.
Air Jordan 1
The Air Jordan 1 was first released in 1985 designed by Peter C. Moore. This was the mere beginning of the iconic shoe that we idolize today. This was around the 1984-85 season when he was named ‘Rookie of the Year’. However, the Air Jordan 1 that we see today was actually banned by the NBA. The NBA commissioner David Stern had previously banned a similar shoe that had black and red finish. For every instance that Michael Jordan wore the banned shoes, it would cost Nike a staggering $5,000. This eventually defined the Air Jordan 1 for coming decades. On September 3rd, 2016 the Air Jordan 1 Retro High “OG” Banned was released.
Air Jordan 2
The Air Jordan 2 was released in November 1986; it has set the tone for the rest of the other shoes in the franchise. It featured high quality materials, cutting edge technology and a high sense of elegant design. It was designed by Peter C. Moore (who previously designed the Air Jordan 1) along with Bruce Kilgore. The Air Jordan 2’s was made in Italy with faux-lizard skin without the Nike “Swoosh”, and this was why it was the first Air Jordan to pass the $100.00 retail threshold. In 1986, Nike released a commercial featuring Michael Jordan wearing the new Air Jordan 2’s walking in mid-air throwing his signature dunk “Rock-a-bye Baby”.
Air Jordan 3
By 1988, Michael Jordan was dominating at a full scale during the NBA season. At the same time, he was also wearing the new Air Jordan 3’s , which were released in white and cement grey finish in 1988. That same year he was named MVP and ‘Defensive Player of the Year’. The Air Jordan 3 was designed, once again, by
Tinker Hatfield who became the most prolific Air Jordan designer. Additionally, the famous ‘Jump Man’ logo that we see today first appeared on the Air Jordan 3’s.
Air Jordan 4
In 1989, the famed shoe designer Tinker Hatfield was, once again, warming up ideas for the Air Jordan 4’s. This time he focused on MJ’s performance rather than relying on inspirations. The Air Jordan 4’s were the first model to have an over-molded mesh. This was done in order to create a perception to the consumer that the shoe was made cheaply. However, when it was released, people disliked it because they deemed them to be ugly. On the bright side, the model, with time, started to grow in the minds of many consumers. One notable feature of the Air Jordan 4 was the capability to lace your AJ4’s into 18 different patterns. This gave people the opportunity to put their signature style on their pair of Air Jordan 4’s.
Air Jordan 5
During the time of the release of the Air Jordan 5, Michael Jordan had reached new heights in his career. His performance was like a dogfight that distinguished him from other players. The Air Jordan 5’s was released in February of 1990; Tinker Hatfield was inspired by WW2 fighter planes, which featured shark-tooth shapes on the midsole. This was basically describing Michael Jordan’s performance on the basketball court through the Air Jordan 5’s. The original colors, when it was released, came in Black/Metallic Silver.
Fast Forward…. Air Jordan 10
Let’s fast forward to 1994-1995, which was around the time Michael Jordan had traded in his sneakers for cleats during his brief stint as a minor league baseball player. Yes, he was an actual baseball player! During this time, Nike and long-time designer Tinker Hatfield, thought that Michael Jordan’s career had reached an end. In response to that the Air Jordan 10 was brought to life. Eventually, Michael Jordan returned to the NBA; and when he did, he wore the Air Jordan 10’s along with his new number “45” on the side.
Believing that MJ’s career had come to an end, Tinker had decided to show appreciation toward MJ by showing off his milestone accomplishments from his career (from 1985-1994).
These milestone achievements are:
- 85’ rookie of the year
- 86’ 63 Points
- 87 Scoring title
- 88 Dunk Champ
- 89 All Defense
- 90 Scores 63 Points
- 91 MVP/Championships
- 92 MVP/Championships
- 93 MVP/Championships
- 94 Beyond
These can be found on the sole of the Air Jordan 10. Also, there are 3 models of the Air Jordan 10’s that had 5 different colors each representing five selected teams which are Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Seattle Supersonics and the Chicago Bulls. They were retailing at $125.00 at the time.
Air Jordan 11
By the 1995-1996 season, Michael Jordan had a designated new pair that he would wear, the Air Jordan 11. This was another masterpiece for Tinker Hatfield to work on. He was inspired by a convertible with a shiny body which is why it was chosen to be made of leather. It also had a lightweight Phylon midsole with a full-length air sole unit and a full-length carbon fiber plate. However, the newly designed shoe had a flaw; it would crease quickly and it lacked traction. Understandably, Michael Jordan was hesitant to wear them during the 1995-96 playoffs. When it was officially released in 1995, they were sold for $125.00; three mids were released along with two I.E lows. Also, there were only 5 pairs of Air Jordan XI “Space Jams” made that were dedicated to the Space Jam movie that Jordan headlined.
Air Jordan 20
The Air Jordan 20 was released in February of 2005 and was designed by the famous designer Tinker Hatfield & Mark Smith. This was to celebrate the 20th edition of the Air Jordan franchise. On this new pair of the Air Jordan 20, Michael Jordan’s life was laser engraved with over 200 icons into the upper part of the AJ XX by Nike’s laser expert Mark Smith. One of the icons seen on the side panel was his mom in a 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, there were also crossed golf clubs and his dad’s toolbox with the word ‘POP’s”. Also, on the side spoke, near the back heel, you will see 69 dimples, which represented Michael Jordan’s highest scoring game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 28th, 1990. The AJ XX was featured in the commercial along with the longtime collaborator, director Spike Lee, who is reading the story of Michael Jordan’s life.
Air Jordan XXXV
Fast forward to 2020 and the latest innovation for the Air Jordan franchise, the Air Jordan 35, were released in September 2020 and designed by Tate Kuerbis. It is dubbed as the “Center of Gravity”. Like previous models, the AJ 30 is devoted to Michael Jordan, but the colors are inspired and geared toward a new generation of athletes. The red and black “warrior” colorway references to Rui Hachimura, a professional MBA player who is half Japanese and half Beninese. He was born on February 8th, 1998.
The iridescent blue “Morpho” color represents to a professional basketball player Guo Ailun, who is a Chinese native who plays for Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association and for the Chinese national team.
The DNA colorway represents by the Slovenian NBA player Luka Dončić who plays for the Dallas Mavericks. It demonstrates his fiery fighter plane ethos. Last, but not least, the “Bayou Boys” color way demonstrates Zion Williamson, a
professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans toppled off with faux-gator leather finish.
Summary
To this day, the Air Jordan’s are still one of the best, and the most iconic, sneakers to buy. This includes the Air Jordan XIII, which was featured in the 1997-1998 season, Jordan’s final year with the Chicago Bulls.
The Air Jordan XII is known for its long durability over time. It was worn by MJ for the 1996-1997 season, despite him suffering from a fever of 103 degrees. However, he still managed score 38 points against the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of the Finals on his approach to his fifth championship ring. Once again, designer Tinker Hatfield borrowed on the idea of the Japanese Nisshoki shoe and Rising Sun flag. It featured Jordan’s number ‘23’, which was placed on the sneaker tongue and written as “Two 3”
As we can see, designer Tinker Hatfield is responsible for bringing us the most classic and memorable sneakers in the history of the Air Jordan franchise. Even though Michael Jordan’s career officially ended in 2003, his legacy is still alive today. As time passes, Michael Jordan stands as the all-time MVP. We, the sneaker fan community, must now wait to see what he has in store for us in the future.