THE GENESIS

THE
GENESIS

OF BASKETBALL

It could be said that Michael Jordan was the genesis of basketball as we know it today. Through a fiery and storied career, the tireless MJ overcame his hurdles, soaring above challenge after challenge to realize the the unexpected. Along the way he refined basketball’s relationship to style, the sport’s connection to youth counter-culture and the game’s creative potential.

Black/Red
Black/Royal Blue
White / Red
Black / White
White / UNC Blue
Black / Grey
White / Grey
White / Orange
White / Red

Black/Red
Black/Royal Blue
White / Red
Black / White
White / UNC Blue
Black / Grey
White / Grey
White / Orange
White / Red

AIR JORDAN BEGINS HERE.

1

9

8

5

Air Jordan begins here. The model was designed in 1984, released in '85, and — due to Michael Jordan's foot injury in '86 — it ran through '87.

ORIGINAL RELEASE

1985

DESIGNER

Peter Moore

COLOR

Black / Red

ORIGINAL PRICE

$65

SHOP NOW

I THINK WE SHOULD CALL HIM AIR JORDAN, BECAUSE HE FLIES.

DAVID FALK
1985

THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS FAILURE.

- MJ

Like Jordan himself, his eponymous footwear arrived with a bang, sharing its namesake’s tradition-breaking bravado. A black and red color way violated the league’s uniform policy, earning a stern letter from league officials and generating a $5,000 fine each time the player wore the shoes on court. It is with this brazen charisma that the Air Jordan lineage was born.

THE AIR JORDAN 1 WAS THE FIRST SHOE TO BE WORN IN THE NBA WITH MULTIPLE COLORS.