In 1984, Michael Jordan listened to his Mother and flew out to take a meeting with Nike execs. Initially keen on signing with Adidas at the time, Nike was up and coming and making great strides. They were also motivated to meet with Jordan and create a custom shoe. Ultimately, it was a good thing Jordan listened to mama because without her, we would not have 5 of the most iconic Air Jordans of all time.
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Nike committed to getting Jordan and offered him $500,000 a year in cash for five years. Which was a crazy number for that time as the next closest sports shoe deal was $150,000 for eight years. They sweetened the deal by also offering him stock options and other perks that came to a cool $7 million to Jordan. There were stipulations based on performance and sales for Jordan to collect on all the contracts. By end of 1985, Jordan had sold $100 million in air jordans and was crowned rookie of the year. Not bad at all.
In the 38 years since the launch of this iconic brand, we have had several incredible Air Jordans. But which of these would be considered top 5?
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5. Air Jordan 5
The Retro 5s, also designed by Tinker Hatfield, was famously worn by Will Smith in the 90’s sitcom “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. They came with a bunch of features that gave extra ankle support, drop shadow 23 on the side panel, and featured the first translucent sole.
4. Air Jordan 11
Again, Tinker Hatfield brought the magic with the 11s. Debuting in the kid’s classic Space Jam movie starring Michael himself along with the looney tunes cast of characters. He famously takes off from halfcourt in his “space Jams’’ 11s to dunk on the Monstars. The two most famous Michaels in the world, Jordan and Jackson, were in the music video for the soundtrack song “Jam”. The shoe is just a beauty of design and look.
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3. Air Jordan 4
Debuting in 1988 when Jordan and his bulls battled and lost to the Pistons in 5 games. However, Jordan’s performance during that battle helped make the 4s shine. Featuring a sleek leather base with great support, the red and black versions are loudly subtle style statements.
2. Air Jordan 3
Debuting during the 1988 dunk contest when Jordan flew from the 3-point line and dunked, we had never seen anything like that before. It was also legendary because that is the first time the Jumpman logo debuted which Drake made even more famous with his 2015 Hit by the same name. The 3s made everyone want to get a pair of Js in a Retro ‘White Cement’ version.
1. Air Jordan 1
This is the ‘Daddy’, the first-ever, and arguably #1 of all. Released 38 years ago in the fall of 1984, this shoe changed basketball, culture, and footwear and never looked back. They featured the Nike Swoosh and Air Jordan Logo on the side. The 1st was deemed illegal by then NBA regulations, which made it immediately relevant. With over 10 colors, the black/red (bred) and black/ royal blue Retro OG High First Class just make an irresistible style statement.
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Feature Image: Mike Von
