Michael Jordan Wore These Air Jordans During the Last Dance. Why Aren’t They More Loved?

Once a season or so, Jordan Brand reissues a sneaker that Michael Jordan wore on the basketball court in an iconic original colorway—the Air Jordan 3 ‘Black Cement,’ say, or the Air Jordan 1 ‘Bred’—and that shoe inevitably flies off the shelves. But this week, an OG Air Jordan that’s only been released twice since its days on the United Center hardwood makes its return—and it’s unclear if sneakerheads will be lining up to cop.

For the first time since 2017, the Air Jordan 13 is back in its original red-and-white ‘Chicago’ colorway. The Tinker Hatfield-designed 13 was one of the last signature shoes Jordan wore during his prime with the Chicago Bulls, and he only wore four makeups of it on the court. The ‘Chicago’ kept things clean and simple with a white pebbled leather upper accented by a stripe of red suede that ran above the black sole and up the heel. It’s tied together with a circular jeweled “cat eye” emblem on the ankle.

The 13 occupies an unenviable space in Jordan lore (and rankings—we named it the 11th best Air Jordan of all-time, just outside of the top ten). It came directly after the one-two punch of the Air Jordan 11 and 12—the former one of the most beloved and innovative sneakers of all time, the latter a cult classic with all-time great colorways like the black-and-white ‘Taxi’ and black-and-red ‘Flu Game.’ Hatfield had a tough act to follow when it came time to make the 13, and even if they’re far from forgotten or reviled, it’s certainly seen as the ones that came after the 11 and 12, rather than having a real legacy of its own.

Courtesy of Nike