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The Air Jordan 1 was released in 1985 kicking off not only the greatest legacy in sneakers, but also the greatest legacy in basketball history.The first round, third overall pick, Michael Jordan, was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 NBA Draft. Before the NBA, Jordan excelled in college basketball at North Carolina and helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in the 1984 Olympic Games.Wearing the Air Jordan 1, Michael Jordan soared in his rookie year. Jordan got a spot on the All Star team, finished thrid in scoring, brought the bull back to the Playoffs, and finished as the Rookie of the Year. |
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The Air Jordan 2 was released in the 1986/1987 season featuring a full length air sole and very supportive midsole. The Air Jordan 2 again stood out from all of the other basketball shoes with a faux lizard skin on the side of the shoe. The Air Jordan 2 also seperated itself from all other sneakers since it was made in Italy. Michael Jordan received his first of seven consecutive scoring titles. Jordan also received the slam dunk contest trophy and was in the All-Star Game, and was named to first team All-NBA. |
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The Air Jordan 3 broke ground for many different aspects of the Nike Air Jordan shoe line. First, the Air Jordan 3 featured the “Jumpman” on the tongue of the shoe. This siloutte of Jordan was to celebrate and commorate his Slam Dunk Contest victory the year before. Every Jordan after the Air Jordan 3 features this Jumpman as a focal point of the shoe as well as became the new logo for the Air Jordan line. The Air Jordan 3 was also the first to feature a visible air unit. Lastly, the Air Jordan 3 featured elephant print on the upper. Though this material was only used again on 1 other model, it set a standard that the Jordan shoes are as much fashionable as functional. |
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The Air Jordan 4 took the world by storm in 1989. Along with a career season came a career sneaker. The Air Jordan 4 featured many new design concepts. First, the straps on the side for increased ankle support.. The Air Jordan 4 again featured the air sole heel for added cushioning and a full length midsole. While wearing the Air Jordan 4, Michael Jordan reached new points in his career. Taking home another scoring title with 32.5 points per game, Jordan also appeared in the All-Star Game, First Team NBA, and All-Defense. |
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The Air Jordan 5 was inspired by the WW2 Mustang fighter plane. The most obvious element of the inspiration is the shark teeth shapes on the midsole of the shoe. The Air Jordan 5 also was the first Jordan shoe to have a clear sole. This not only added a nice look to the Air Jordan 5, but provided far better traction. The Air Jordan 5 also featured an iradescent reflective tongue and lacelocks. |
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The Air Jordan 6 was released for the 1990-91 season. This season and this shoe was part of a defining moment for Michael Jordan. Finally the Bulls won the NBA Championship defeating the LA Laker’s in the Finals. Jordan again took home the NBA scoring title and his 2nd of 5 MVP awards. This time with a rubber tounge featuring two holes which the bearer could use to easily get the kicks on. He kept the idea with clear rubber soles and lace locks from the Air Jordan 5’s but apart from that this felt like a brand new AJ design for the Air Jordan 6. |
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The Air Jordan 7 was worn by Mike in the 1991-92 season as well as the gold-medal winning Barcelona Olympic Games. While wearing the Air Jordan 7’s, Michael Jordan won his third MVP award, second NBA championship, and the NBA scoring title. On top of that, Jordan took home his second Olympic Gold Medal with the Dream Team of ‘92. The. The Air Jordan 7 featured huarached technology which made the shoe really stick to your foot. The shoe was much lighter weight than some of the previous Air Jordans as well. The Air Jordan 7 was also unique in that it did not feature the “Nike Air” logo, a visible air unit, or clear soles. |
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The Air Jordan 8 was released during the 1992-93 “Three-Peat” Championship season. The Air Jordan 8 was the last Air Jordan shoe that Jordan wore before retiring the first time. The Bulls and Jordan won their third consecutive NBA title. Jordan himself got his seventh straight scoring title and reached a milestone in his NBA career when scoring his 20,000th point. The Air Jordan 8 was one heavy beast. Its base was clearly close to its predecessor but it had a lot more details, color and accents. It had cross-over velcro/leather straps and was so padded your foot got surprised. |
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The Air Jordan 9 was released in 1993 shortly following the announcement of Jordan’s retirement. On October 6th 1993, Jordan gave the basketball world a shock when he announced his retirement from the NBA. The greatest basketball player of all time retiring at the age of 30. A decision probably affected by the fact that his father was murdered in North Carolina in the summer of 1993 just before he won his third championship. The shoe being released was plain and sturdy and was the first model that Michael did not wear in an NBA seasonal game (due to the retirement). The bottom of the shoe had words in different languages: |
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The Air Jordan 10 was released in 1994-95 despite Jordan’s absense from the NBA. The Air Jordan 10 featured a different shape than the previous Jordan shoes did. Baseball went on strike thus leaving Jordan hanging with nothing to do, that is if he didn’t return to the NBA. Sure enough, Jordan shocked everyone when he returned from retirement on March 19, 1995. Since his jersey had been retired, he had to go back onto the court wearing #45 until the technicalities were cleared out of the way. About every Jordan 10 fan was pulling their hair out by the time that Nike released retro Jordan 10’s. May 3, 2005 was the launch date which was about 10 years after they were last sold. The Jordan 10’s were the oldest shoes to be retroed older than the Air Jordan 13’s. |
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The legendary Air Jordan 11 was first released for for 1995-96 season. The Air Jordan 11 are the most famous and most popular model of the Air Jordan line. Jordan was back for real and he led the Bulls to yet another NBA victory. He also became the second man to ever win Most Valuable Player awards for the regular season, All-Star Game and NBA Finals in the same season. A terrific design with a new patent leather and the return of the clear rubber sole made the Air Jordan 11 the most appreciated Air Jordan model ever released. But when the design stunned everyone, the durability and quality was disappointing. Again the clear rubber soles easily yellowed and the patent leather also tended to crack up and/or easily get scratched. Top design - lacking quality. |
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The Air Jordan 12 was released in 1996-97 and were the first Air Jordan shoes in the Jordan Brand line. Jordan wore the Air Jordan 12’s while he took home his fifth NBA title and fifth NBA Finals MVP. The Air Jordan 12 featured something very unique in terms of design. The Air Jordan 12 upper was stitched to resemble the Japanese Rising Sun flag. The Air Jordan 12 also was the most durable shoes out of the whole Jordan shoe series. In addition to this, the Air Jordan 12 provides the most ankle support which was great for keeping Jordan on the floor for the whole season. |
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The Air Jordan 13 was released in 1997-98 which was the last season that Jordan played for the Bulls. While wearing the Air Jordan 13’s Jordan broke Karemm Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA record by scoring double-digits for the 788th consecutive game. Jordan also led the bulls to the franchise’s sixth NBA Championship Title. Jordan took home his sixth ring along with his sixth Final MVP honor. The Air Jordan 13 is regarded as the best designed Jordan shoe by a large percentage of Jordan sneaker fans. The Air Jordan 13 was the first and only Jordan shoes to feature a hologram. The outsole received inspiration from the paws of a Panther. Jordan’s nickname on the court from fellow NBA players was “Black Cat” for his fast reflexes and speed down the court. |
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The Air Jordan 14 was released in 1998-99, but one famous pair got on Jordan’s feet just in time before his second retirement. The Air Jordan 14’s were designed by the inspiration from Jordan’s Ferrari 550M.The Air Jordan 14 was the first Jordan shoe to come standard with metal tips as well as built in trivia. Each shoe (left and right) had 7 jumpmen making a total of 14. The back of the Air Jordan 14’s also displayed for all to see in roman numerals that this was indeed the 14th shoe in the Jordan lineup. The Black/Red Jordan 14’s earned the nickname “Last Shots” because of the epic and legendary event that took place while on Jordan’s feet. These were the most saught after colorway as an original as well as a retro. |
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The Air Jordan 15 was released in 1999-2000 but was never worn by Jordan himself in an NBA game. The shoes did not sell too well to put it politely, though, many doubt that the Air Jordan 15’s being on Jordan’s feet would have made much of a difference. The design of the Air Jordan 15 originated from the futuristic X-15 fighter jet developed by NASA during the 1950’s. The tongue of the shoe stuck out parallel to the ground. Many wondered if this was to resemble Jordan’s famous facial expression while soaring through the air.The Air Jordan 15 also had a red stripe that went up the back of the shoe and bottom of the heel. This stripe caused many to ponder if the inspiration for this feature of the Air Jordan 15 came from the signature stripe on Prada shoes. The shoes also had an “original” woven upper, but many thought this was also inspired by Italian designers. |
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The Air Jordan 16 was released on February 17, 2001 which was Jordan’s 38th birthday.There were some of the designs from the pervious Air Jordans put into the Air Jordan 16's. For example, there was the return of the clear rubber sole and they also featured patent leather.What made the Air Jordan 16 unique was the brand new gaiter/shroud that covered the shoe and that could be removed to give the shoe a brand new look. Not only was this for stylish purposes, it also had a thermal functionality. The Air Jordan 16 was a little stiff and to wear the shroud/gaiter when playing basketball really wasn’t a good idea, as it pretty easily could fall off. The black/red Air Jordan 16 and white/navy Air Jordan 16 both featured patent leather which very easily got creased and cracked. Best for playing in were the one’s without patent leater. |
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The Air Jordan 17 was released February 9, 2002. This was the first shoe released since Jordan’s 2nd return to the NBA playing for the Washington Wizards. The Air Jordan 17 design was said to be inspired by three things; “the fine details from an Aston Martin, the smooth lines and flow of a jazz solo and the long Air Jordan history of innovations in style” Well, if the Air Jordan 16’s were equipped with a gaiter/shroud that was removable and that would cover almost more than half of the shoe, the Air Jordan 17’s were no worse. With a removable midfoot cover you were once again given the power to choose whether or not the laces should be visible. But the midfoot cover was not everything. The Air Jordan 17 came with a Jumpman embossed metal carrying case. |
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The Air Jordan 18 was released in 2003 and was the shoe for Jordan’s last season. The inspiration of the design is a combination fo a number of things; Sleek racing lines of the auto world, Carbon fiber based monocoque of F1 race cars, Race car driving shoes (rubber heel wrap) and Fine Italian dress shoes (bold stitching on the soles). With a new Jordan box with a nice cut out 18 with foil behind it and a new pull-out opening the box itself was just |
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The Air Jordan 19 was released in 2004. The design of the Air Jordan 19 was inspired by the most dangerous snake on earth, the Black Mamba. In Air Jordan 19 a material was used that had never been associated with shoewear design ever before. The industrial braided sleeving (also called tech-flex) that was the main ingredient of the design is a material used in the automotive industry. A superb material that stretches comfortably but has enormous support capabilities. The Air Jordan 19’s were equipped with a double stack Air Sole unit in the heel combined with a full length zoom air bag. This made the shoe one of the most comfortable Air Jordans’s ever released. As the shoe was also put together in a very unique way very few seems were felt on the inside - another feature that made them extremely comfortable. |
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The Air Jordan 20 was released on February 19, 2005. The Air Jordan 20 celebrated the 20th model and 20th year of Air Jordan shoes as well as Jordan’s legacy on and off the court.The Air Jordan XX is set to debut in early 2005, packaged in a black & red box with a flip top in the middle which is secured by velcro. The side of box is expected to be embossed with the word “JORDAN.” This model should feature an special 20th Aniversary Edition Coaster.The Jordan 20 was the first almost “Air-less” Jordan. You will not find a single zoom air unit in the Air Jordan 20. Instead there are 20 specially “tuned” phylon columns/pods strategically located around the outsole reinforced by an internal shank plate. The rear pod has a specially modified air unit incorporated into it. The hyped cushioning system is called Independent Podular Suspension(IPS). Quite simply, it’s a hybrid shox system minus the columns and pebax dispersion plate. It works very well during wear tests. It’s low profile gives it the responsiveness edge over the Jordan 19. However the traction is not as great as it can be. |
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The Air Jordan 21 was released on February 18, 2006. The upper is expected to be a combination of luxurious Italian suedes with rich full-grain leathers. Forefoot breathability features are combined with a newly engineered durable textile for suppot and durability in key performance areas. Extended heel counter construction provides enhanced ankle support. New foam-backed quilted collar complements the seamless booty contruction to provide maximum comfort. Breathable mesh is brought to the tongue to dissipate heat while hte adjustable tongue cover flips up to expose the breatable technology or flips down for a more sophisticated look. Fully-double lasted phylon midsole provides a low-profile stance. Evolution of the I.P.S now includes interchangeable cushioning technology with a customizable heel zoom pillar or heel encapsulated pillar. Carbon Fiber shake plate offers midfoot and arch support. I.P.S. technology is integrated with the outsole through raised herringbone pods for traction in strategic performance areas. New innovative outsole pattern offers multi-directional traction. |
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