How the Air Jordan 4 became legendary

On Sunday, Feb. 12, 1989, sneaker history was made in Houston, Texas. Michael Jordan stepped on the court for the NBA’s All-Star Game in a black and red colorway — or “Bred” as it would later be called by sneaker enthusiasts — of the Air Jordan 4 for the first time.

Now, thirty-five years later, Nike is revisiting the moment for this year’s All-Star Weekend by releasing an updated take on the classic shoe called the Air Jordan 4 Bred Reimagined, a newly revised version of the original silhouette.

According to Nike, the Air Jordan 4 Bred Reimagined is a “re-engineered shape, fit, and feel back to the original ’89 specs.” In terms of a revamped feel, Nike swapped the original canvas and nubuck upper with a premium full-grain leather upper to give the shoe a more sophisticated feel. Keeping in line with the “back to ’89” theme, the Bred Reimagined features Nike Air branding on the back heel tab, the outsole, and the shoe’s insoles, which will excite fans of the original and collectors for this release. In honor of Michael Jordan’s 61st birthday, the latest Jordan 4 retro will be released on February 17th. 

The legacy of His Airness’ fourth signature shoe may have begun in the All-Star game. However, if it wasn’t for a lingering knee injury, the Bred Jordan 4s may have debuted the night before during the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, as MJ was looking to win the event three years in a row. Instead of seeing what MJ would do to top highlights from the previous year, fans had to settle for Jordan delivering a game-high 28 points for the Eastern Conference team.  

But what gave the shoe its real legacy would come later that same season. 

On May 7, Jordan’s Chicago Bulls faced off against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a deciding game five of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. With the game and series on the line, Jordan hit a jumper over Cleveland’s Craig Ehlo in a play that became known as “The Shot.” The play helped fuel Jordan’s quest to become one of the game’s greatest. And the shoes he wore were tied into that story.

Noted Jordan and Kobe collector Marvin Barias, known by his Instagram handle, MJO23DAN, was old enough to recall watching the Bulls player transform into a star. “The Air Jordan 4 dropped when Jordan was trying to establish himself as a leader and also trying to beat the Bad Boy Pistons, Larry Bird’s Celtics and Magic Johnson’s Lakers. ‘The Shot’ was important because it proved MJ could lead his team to victory in clutch situations,” he said.

Nike has always been great at marketing their products, and in this case, having Spike Lee’s Mars Blackmon persona paired with Jordan during a time when both of them were ascending to their respective GOAT status was a match made in heaven. There’s something special about the simplistic nature of the “Can/Can’t” and “No Mars” commercials that gave just enough teases of this colorway to build anticipation. Having Lee be the braggadocious hype man to Jordan, who barely said anything, was the perfect yin and yang pairing. Taking one of the greatest trash-talkers of all time and having him come off as kind and relatable? Genius.

“I first saw the Black and Red Jordan 4s in a commercial with MJ and Spike Lee in November 1988,” said Mark “Jumpman” Bostic, a long-time collector of Jordan footwear. “When the (Air Jordan) 4s finally released in 1989, I went crazy for them. The commercial with MJ and Spike sold the shoes.”

The last part of the equation of what makes the Black and Red Jordan 4 special is that there have only been four retros before this year’s release, and only two have featured the original Nike Air branding, a key detail for collectors who desire one-to-one facsimiles of the shoes Jordan wore on the court. Bostic, who owns all of the previous black and red Jordan 4 Retros, can detail the differences between each release and how they stack up to the originals.

Besides the differences mentioned, Bostic cited more specifics on what separates one release from the other: “The 1999 release had nice materials, still had the Nike Air branding, albeit in a different font, and felt close to the original despite there being a change to the toe box. The 2008 pair released as part of the Countdown Pack was a major disappointment. The Jumpman branding on the heel didn’t bother me, but the makeup of the shoe in the form of cheap material, a wide cut, and the heavy feel of the shoe took away from the original and 1999 releases,” he said.

“The 2012 release was not much better than the 2008 version, with many of the same problems,” Bostic continued. “The 2019 release was outstanding and closest to the original 1989, with the look and feel superior to the previous two releases. I’m looking forward to the upcoming release because the full grain leather gives the shoe an upgraded look.”

Barias agreed that previous retros didn’t exactly hit the mark. “The 2008 and 2012 releases of the Black and Red Jordan 4s always looked off due to the Jumpman branding replacing the Nike Air branding on the back,” he said. “Hopefully, with the Remastered program and the Reimagined line the Nike Air branding on the heel is here to stay. As collectors, we remember the Nike Air being featured in all of MJ’s moments.”