Twenty-five years ago, Michael Jordan’s basketball popularity -- and by extension, the popularity of his shoes -- launched into the stratosphere when he faced off against Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks in what many still consider to be the greatest dunk contest of all time.
The showdown at the old Chicago Stadium is embedded in people’s memory for two reasons: Jordan launching himself from the free-throw line, earning a perfect 50 to win the contest, and also for the sneakers he wore.
The Air Jordan III is probably the most iconic in the entire line of Jordan Brand shoes. The Tinker Hatfield-designed shoe blazed new trails with its visible air bubble in the heel and the elephant print detailing on the toe and the heel.
Jordan Brand has released the AJ3 in retro versions before but with a noticeable tweak: replacing the original “Nike” that appeared on the back of the shoe with the Jumpman logo above the words “Air.”
On Wednesday, the brand released the Air Jordan III in its original form from 1988 and created a frenzy among collectors, affectionately known as “sneaker heads.” The shoe dropped at 3:51 CT, the exact moment when Jordan completed his contest-winning free-throw line jam.
The release was online only and folks were scrambling to get their hands on a pair, which proved to be a difficult task. So we’d like to know if you were able to secure a pair of this classic, limited-edition release.
Let us know!
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