They say nothing is bigger than the game itself. Sometimes I don’t know if I always agree with that. If there’s one thing that has become synonymous with the game of basketball, that would be the Jordan Brand, but more specifically the sneakers. The brand has become larger than life and the symbol is more well known than the one that belongs to the artist formerly known as. In fact, the Jumpman logo is probably more widely recognized globally than the NBA logo itself. With so many to choose from, which is the best Jordan sneaker of all-time?
In 1985, the Jordan 1s were originally released. They were different than what most were used to with their flashy red, black and white colors. In fact, they were so uncommon that David Stern deemed that they violated the league’s uniform rules and Mike was not to wear them. But he did anyway and every time he chose to wear his new shoe, he was fined $5,000. The 1s came equipped with the Nike swoosh and the Jordan Wings insignia.
The following year brought the Jordan 2s to the world which were toned down considerably from the 1s. However, the biggest difference was that the 2s did not have the swoosh.
That led to the 3s which was the first time that the aforementioned Jumpman logo appeared on Jordans. From that point on, the rest as they say, has been history. Jordans never looked back and continued to grow in popularity both locally and domestically, eventually becoming it’s own brand and outfitter of basketball programs at schools like Cal, Cincinnati, St. John’s and of course, North Carolina. It even got to the point where non basketball players endorsed the brand, such as Derek Jeter and Roy Jones, Jr.
When Mike retired after the Bulls’ first 3-peat some thought that would be the end of the line. Not so fast, though. The line continued to roll on even though he wasn’t even in the league anymore. It was around that time when Nike and Jordan decided to cash in by re-releasing Jordans that were no longer available in what has widely been known as Retros. At first, the younger generation thought the re-released Retros were new additions to the catalogue of Jordans rather than a revisit.
When I think of the best Jordans, one definitely comes to mind for me. Many were leather and eventually suede. Some had Velcro and others had straps. But when the patent leather 11s were introduced, it changed the game forever. In my book, the white and black patent leather 11s are the the best Jordans and basketball sneaker ever simply because of the sheer innovative nature of them. I mean, they actually had patent leather wrapped around the shoe.
Jordan 11’s
I remember the first time we saw the 11s. It’s as clear in my mind as if it happened yesterday. The Bulls were taking on Orlando in the playoffs and before the game began, Ahmad Rashad had the new white and black 11s in his hand and introduced it to us at home, and Mike wore them that game. Rumor has it that Mike wasn’t supposed to wear the shoes yet because they weren’t even in production. But after Rashad held them up to the camera and Mike wore them, they had no choice but to pump them out.
In ranking Js, as they are affectionately called, I only consider original models and original colors. Jordan brand Jordans that were not original Jordans (hopefully you followed all of that), as well as colors that were reserved for Retros are disqualified from the conversation because they were not part of the initial release. I just made those rules up.
If you haven’t seen History of Flight yet, do yourself a favor and check it out! Then come back here and give us your feedback as to which Jordans do you think are the best ever?
