The Evolution Of Nike Air Jordan Basketball Shoes

So, Michael Jordan is having his 50th birthday next February 17.

Here's a look to the basketball shoes series that he made famous. Some of them are in my collection as well...

Here they are:

1. NIKE Air Jordan I - "The Notorious" (1984): The shoe that started it all. The original black and red version was barred by the NBA for "non-regulation colors". At that time, all basketball shoes in NBA are of the predominant whites.

I had this series in 1986, a year-and-a-half later than its original year. They were given as a present for my 10th birthday.





2. NIKE Air Jordan II - " The Italian Stallion" (1987): Michael Jordan won his first slam dunk title during The NBA All-Star Weekend in these shoes.

I bought this one, at that time I was a freshman in my junior high school team.





3. NIKE Air Jordan III - "Gotta Be The Shoes" (1988): This was the shoe that got even more popular at that time when a movie character played by Spike Lee declared the famous phrase--- "It's gotta be the shoes!". Michael Jordan won his first NBA MVP award wearing these shoes. And if we look even more thoroughly, this edition was the birth of the "jumpman" icon.

I didn't have this edition, I found the livery pattern too girly. Sorry...





4. NIKE Air Jordan IV - "The Taking Flight" (1989): Cleveland fans must remember these shoes very well; Michael Jordan wore these shoes when he hit "The Legendary Shot" to carry Chicago Bulls buried Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. Bulls 3 - Cavs 2.





5. NIKE Air Jordan V - "The Fighter" (1990): Inspired by a World War II fighter airplane. During the year, Michael Jordan scored a memorable 69 points against Boston Celtics in a pair of these.


I almost purchased the previous edition. But as I saw this one, I made up my mind and let go extra money for this more 'macho' look. At that time, I was a freshman in my high school team.





6. NIKE Air Jordan VI - "The Promised Land" (1991): Featuring a Porsche-inspired pull tab as we can see in the photo below. Michael Jordan won first NBA Championship for himself and for the Chicago Bulls in these shoes.





7. NIKE Air Jordan VII - "The Pure Gold" (1992): 1992 was a good year for Mike. He brought home his 2nd NBA Championship title, his 6th scoring title, the Olympic gold medal (Barcelona, with fellow Dream Team members Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Pat Ewing, Charlie Barkley, etc).

The design of the shoe was borrowed from West African tribal art, the red and blue colors representing USA flag.





8. NIKE Air Jordan VIII - "The Strap In" (1993): Featuring a strap and a fuzzy "jumpman" logo. Although the strap looked cool and intriguing at that time, I cancelled my plan buying this edition since this edition actually one of the heaviest model of Air Jordans.






9. NIKE Air Jordan IX - "The Perfect Harmony" (1994): Sadly, the legendary Michael Jordan retired (and his #23 jersey hung up by the Bulls) to chase his dream of becoming a baseball player before the release of this shoe. He never wore them in a single NBA game.

I had this edition at home. I built my reputation as a sharpshooter during my college years in a pair of these.






10. NIKE Air Jordan X - "The Legacy Continues" (1995): Despite Jordan's retirement, his Nike shoes still released. On the sole of these was a list of Michael Jordan's accomplishments.






11. NIKE Air Jordan XI - "The Class Act" (1996): Baseball might be fun for MJ, but it was simply not his world. So, wearing these pair of shoes and the all-new #45 jersey, Michael Jordan in his first full season back after short retirement led the Bulls to a record 72-10 wins and a 4th NBA Championship title.

Michael Jordan also wore these in "Space Jam" movie.






12. NIKE Air Jordan XII - "The Dynasty Continues" (1997): Inspired by a 19th century dress shoe, shown by fancy metal ornaments at the upper part.







13. NIKE Air Jordan XIII - "The Black Cat Pounces" (1998): Not many people knew that "Black Cat" was actually Michael Jordan's secret nickname during childhood and teen-hood.






14. NIKE Air Jordan XIV - "Race Ready" (1999): Inspired by Michael Jordan's Ferrari, this was the shoe he wore when he hit "The Shot II" against the Utah Jazz in game 6 of NBA Final.

Take a good luck at the yellow shield with the "jumpman" logo, it was very much the resemblance of the prancing horse logo from Ferrari.








15. NIKE Air Jordan XV - "Speed of Sound" (2000): Oh, yes... Michael Jordan called it a career and retired again, prompting this XV shoes to feature the numbers 23/6/15 on the heel of the shoe: 23 was his jersey number, 6 was his sum of NBA titles and 15 was number of Air Jordan series until this edition.








16. NIKE Air Jordan XVI - "Marching On" (2001): The marching-boot design signifies Michael Jordan's move from the on-court player to the front-office executive.