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The Air Jordan 3 is one of the most iconic sneakers ever produced. While many colorways have been released over the years, only 4 are technically OG colorways.
What The OG Colorways Of Jordan 3 Are
The original colorways of the Air Jordan 3 are White Cement, Black Cement, Fire Red and True Blue.
These colorways are classics and have rereleased many times. Some retros are true to form, featuring the Nike Air logo on the back, while others feature the Jumpman logo, which also debuted with the 3.
What Year The Original Jordan 3 Came Out
The AJ3 debuted in 1988 for a retail or box price of $100.
The First AJ3 Colorway Jordan wore
Michael Jordan famously wore the Air Jordan 3 Black Cement during the ’88 All-Star Game. While the 3’s launch year is technically 1988, MJ did occasionally wear the White Cement colorway ahead of it’s official release during games in 1987.
Nike went crazy promoting the AJ3. Spike Lee featured as his Mars Blackmon character in TV ads for the sneaker. These commercials coined the catchphrase “It’s gotta be the shoes”.
Of course, winning a slam dunk contest in the White Cements did wonders for the sneaker’s popularity. MJ famously won by dunking after jumping from the free throw line.
Who Designed The Jordan 3
Tinker Hatfield designed the Air Jordan 3, including the Jumpman logo that has been synonymous with Jordan Brand ever since.
MJ only wore these once in the
1988 All Star Game. My favorite OG!
Peter Moore, the designer of the Air Jordan 1, left Nike to go work for Adidas before the AJ3 was designed. Rumor has it, he was planning on courting MJ over to the 3 stripes brand. Jordan had after all expressed a desire to work with Adidas before the Air Jordan line at Nike was even a thing!
Fortunately for Nike, Tinker Hatfield stepped up to fill in on the new design. He already had the Air Max 1 and Air Trainer 1 under his belt, and the same exposed Air units would be brought to his concept of the 3.
As far as the original run of Jordans, Hatfield would go on to design the 4, and every other Jordan model up to the 15. He had his hand in later models as well, but the Jordan 3 effectively kickstarted a 13-year streak of his designs for Jordan Brand.
What Inspired The Jordan 3
The AJ3 is inspired by Michael Jordan himself. MJ wanted a classy mid cut sneaker featuring soft materials. The 3 delivers on all of this plus gives him his own Jumpman logo.
Worn by MJ in the 88 Playoffs
At the time, Jordan apparently was considering leaving Nike for another brand. Initially, he had wanted to work with Adidas or Converse, but was convinced otherwise thanks to the efforts of Peter Moore. With Moore leaving Nike for Adidas, there was a chance MJ would follow.
The story goes that Jordan was late to his meeting with Nike to see Tinker’s new Air Jordan 3 design. He had been playing golf with Moore! Fortunately for Nike (and sneaker history), when MJ finally arrived at the meeting, he was impressed by what Tinker put together.
The Jordan 3 was perfect, as in it was exactly what Michael Jordan was looking for. The classy look is similar to the 2 but less off-putting. Air Jordan 3 “highs” are really mids, a preferred cut for MJ at the time. Soft tumbled leather means comfort, and the AJ3 is covered in it. The elephant print and Air unit add flair and originality. No other shoe on the court was going to look like this!
Probably the best thing of all about the sneaker was the brand new Jumpman logo on the tongue. There is a famous image of Jordan flying through the air to dunk that inspired the Jumpman. Putting it right on the tongue cemented that MJ was Nike’s most important star and lead to him continuing with the brand.
What Years Jordan Wore Jordan 3s In-Game
Jordan wore the 3s sporadically in 1987 and all the time in 1988. He wore the White Cement 3s during the regular season and the Fire Red 3s during the playoffs.
Of the four original colorways, MJ primarily wore two. White Cements and Fire Reds got the most love from Jordan during the 1988 season and playoffs.
Black Cements (my favorite colorway) were only worn by his Airness during the 1988 All Star Game. My theory is that this added some mystique to this particular colorway.
The True Blue 3s were initially only worn for an exhibition game pitting the NBA All-Stars against Team USA in 1988. Eventually, Jordan would rock some retros of this colorway during games. However, this was after his time with the Bulls during his stint with the Washington Wizards.
Conclusion
This is the shoe that brought the Jumpman front and center. For that alone, the sneaker will go down as one of the most influential in history! Let’s also not overlook the elephant print and Air bubble adding uniqueness and flair never before seen on a professional basketball sneaker. This type of design would prove hugely influential in the years after its release.
With a model like the Air Jordan 3, many color combinations work. Jordan Brand is always coming up with new ways to combine colors and elephant print on the 3. However, I often say that if you have to get one token colorway of a sneaker, the OGs are a safe bet. Each OG colorway of the 3 is iconic in it’s own right:
- Black Cement 3 – Worn one time by Jordan during the 1988 ASG
- White Cement 3 – Rocked heavily in-game during the ’88 season
- Fire Red 3 – Used by MJ to dominate the 1988 playoffs and kick off the 1989 season
- True Blue 3 – Quirkiest OG 3 colorway, game-worn one time as an OG and several times as a retro
Shop Air Jordan 3s on: eBay