30 years ago, the Air Jordan 11 sneaker emerged as an unknown, even to those closest to Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan.

“I’d never seen a patent leather gym shoe before,” former Bulls equipment manager John Ligmanowski told Andscape.

“I was like, ‘What is this? Oh my God, what are we wearing here?’” Ligmanowski recalled. “But [Michael] is on top of design. He had his hand in all that stuff.”

Created covertly with designer Tinker Hatfield during Jordan’s baseball sabbatical, the Air Jordan 11 would soon ascend from unknown to most known, becoming Jordan Brand’s hottest commodity via dozens of retro releases.

Since its surprise arrival in the 1995 NBA playoffs, the Air Jordan 11 has lived in the realm of fact more than folklore, striking a chord with consumers all the way up to last weekend’s Air Jordan 11 “Gamma” launch.

As the shoe celebrates 30 years of excellence and sheds its shiny skin with the recent three-shoe “City Pack” collection, Andscape uncovered 11 untold stories surrounding the Air Jordan 11’s past, present, and future.

1. Alabama arrival

Infamously, Nike design legend Tinker Hatfield worked on the Air Jordan 11 in private when Jordan was retired from basketball and playing minor league baseball in 1994 for the Double-A Birmingham Barons.

Because Jordan was on a baseball field and thought to be done with basketball, internal support at Nike for a new Air Jordan was hard to find. At that time, so was Michael Jordan.

Tinker Hatfield, Air Jordan designer: Nobody had seen the 11 in its final finished state. I wasn’t going to show it to anybody – except for Michael. So I jumped on a plane and tried to find him.

We found out he had a baseball game in Birmingham, Alabama. I hopped on a plane with the shoe inside a small duffle. I went into the locker room after the game with the shoe in a bag. It was like a high school locker room.

The Barons won, and people were spraying each other with water, snapping towels, just horsing around like a high school team. It was pretty fun.

I grabbed a couple of big towels, asked Michael to sit in the corner, threw these towels over both of us and pulled the 11 out of the bag. He was really excited to see it.

There were guys trying to peek under the towel, and Mike was batting them away. It was a pretty raucous environment, but it was all I had!

The first thing he said when he looked under the towel was, ‘People will be getting married in these shoes.’

I’m like, ‘What?’ I’d never even thought about it.

He goes, ‘No, this is like a dress shoe for basketball. It’s dressy enough and cool enough that people might wear them with tuxedos and suits.’ 

I said, ‘Michael, you’re crazy.’ 

I’m the one who presented him with the shoe, but he was the one who looked into the future about what he thought was going to happen. He loved it. He loved the shoes.

He said, ‘Let’s do it.’

I said, ‘Well, Nike isn’t prepared to commercialize these because you’re playing baseball.’ 

He said, ‘Let’s make ‘em. Screw those guys.’

I gave him a couple of pairs after he un-retired and said, ‘Just wear these in practice because Nike doesn’t have a plan and I’m hassling with the powers that be. Don’t wear them in a game.’ 

He says, ‘OK.’ He was basically telling me, ‘I’ll do what I want with these shoes.’

2. Dress [code]

The Air Jordan 11 blurred the lines between fancy and futuristic in ways still unmatched. Like any aesthetic triumph, the devil was in the details, such as the tongue typography that turned ‘JUMPMAN JORDAN’ on its side as an optical illusion.

Ken Black, former Nike design director: Michael referenced wanting something that he could go from the court straight to a formal event.

That influenced our thinking on creating that patch that would go low on the forefoot. Back in the day, you had tie clips that were a piece of jewelry that added interest or held it there. 

If you had your sweats on or long pants, you could look down and see the branding. The branding would be present even if you weren’t playing the game. 

When I was doing the typography, one of the heads of apparel said, ‘I can’t read that type. I don’t know what it says. Should we do it? Should we not?’ 

But it was kind of its code. People who figure it out will love it!

There was public pressure for me to change that. But the more we went back to Michael, he liked it.

If nobody inside wants to use it, but if Michael loves it? We’ll roll with it.

3. Backstage ball

How did Jordan go from an early exit in the playoffs to a 72-10 season? While filming the 1996 animated film ‘Space Jam,’ he’d have Warner Bros. build a court, referred to as the “Jordan Dome.” It would put his old craft and new shoes to the test.

Tracy Murray, retired NBA veteran and 1995 NBA champion with the Houston Rockets: Michael was fresh off baseball and trying to get a gauge on everyone. How do you sharpen your iron? By having everyone who was tops in their position in the Jordan Dome.

It was like the NBA All-Star Game back in the day. Michael and Reggie [Miller] went at it. The trash talk was so crazy, stuff you can’t even repeat. It was theatre right in front of your face. You’d see Shawn and Marlon Wayans, Queen Latifah, and the cast of Space Jam come just to watch us play pickup games.

Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Larry Johnson, dudes that were legit. These were all [agents] David Falk and Arn Tellem clients. Big-money clients.

Other guys had shoe deals, but Mike took the industry to another level. He gifted my dad a pair of signed shoes, and I appreciate Mike for that. He’d always say that my dad reminded him of his dad.

I wore the Air Jordan 11s when I was overseas in Greece and France. It’s easier to wear them overseas than when you’re going to play against him.

Kris Johnson, 1995 UCLA national champion: We had just won the national championship. We went to the White House, appeared on the Jay Leno Show, and went to the premiere of Bad Boys. It was some real Hollywood stuff.

That summer, we got a message from our team secretary: ‘Michael Jordan called and said he wants the team to come and play at Warner Bros.’

I hadn’t seen Mike since I was 13. He was training for the summer and filming a movie. Me and Charles O’Bannon get there and are waiting for Mik. But in the meantime, we’re in awe of this place.

Mike walks in, and he’s got on the cut-off, sick shorts, and sick Jordans. This is MJ. I’m in awe because it’s Bill Murray, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, all types of people on the sideline.

The first day, I didn’t even talk to Mike. But the next day, I ended up going back solo. My dad said, ‘You’ve gotta go up and talk to him.’ They’re making the teams, and I say, ‘Hey Mike, I’m Kris Johnson, Marcus’ son.’

He said, ‘Damn, Kris you lost a lotta weight! Whose team are you on? I want Kris on my team every single day.’

I went as much as I could. Lifting with him and playing one-on-one before everybody got there. It was a summer of unbelievableness.

He gave me the 11s off his feet. I asked him for them. He said, ‘This ain’t breaking no NCAA violations, is it?’ I said, ‘Heck no, you’re a [North] Carolina guy, I’m UCLA guy. I can’t take Tracy’s shoes but I can take yours!’ I was making s— up in the moment.

I don’t think I ever played in them. I wore them with gear.

Roscoe Chicken ‘n Waffles [restaurant] was a scene back then. The whole line was talking about my shoes. I went to Universal City, and everybody I walked by went, ‘Look at those!’ The reaction was dumb.

The hot club was the Century Club, and they never let people in with tennis shoes. I said, ‘F— that. I’m wearing Jordans.’ I got into a nightclub with those shoes.

The bouncer said, ‘Where’d you get these?’ I said, ‘Mike. M-I-K-E.’ 

4. Retro revival

Michael Jordan retired from the NBA twice, each time returning in 1994 and 2001.

The first baseball sabbatical forced Nike to consider reissuing past Air Jordans in ‘retro’ form. The second retirement from basketball in 1999 and the birth of Brand Jordan, the division’s original name, gave rise to an elevated idea that shifted the entire industry.

Peter Ruppe, former Nike Basketball business director: My first thing was, ‘Who was Chuck Taylor?’ He was an All-Star player in the ‘20s. The Chuck Taylor All-Star [sneaker] is still around. You think if that can hang around that Air Jordan can’t hang around? Disney re-releases Snow White every few years. You can re-release these Jordan products, and they’re going to smoke. Initially, we only did them once, and that was it.

We ran an experiment and released a limited number of Air Jordan 3s on a relatively new platform called QVC. Mary Slayton, who worked with that platform, was experimenting with what Nike could do there. The Jordan 3 liquidated. Do you need any more proof?

When we first looked into doing retros, the 3 was the easiest one to lean on. The 4 with Spike and Mike? That was going to be there. The 5? We weren’t sure. 

The [Air Jordan] 8 was kind of niche, the 9 was boot-like, and the 10 was relatively new and the least novel of any Jordan. It was a beautiful shoe, but it didn’t have any wrinkles.

But the 11? It was so novel. The 3, 4, and the 11 were the money shoes in those early Brand Jordan days. It made sense to bring them back sooner rather than later.

It was crazy. The fervor for the retro product made it difficult to introduce newness because you had a continuous flow of proven products. Every one of the retros worked at different scales.

Even today, [Los Angeles Dodgers star] Mookie Betts is in Jordan cleats. That’s kind of the norm: taking those classics and spinning them all over the place.

5. Alamo Lows

Two years after the Air Jordan 11 debuted, Brand Jordan was officially announced in 1997. Around 2000, the Jumpman marked label began going by Jordan Brand.

One of the inaugural signees to the Jordan roster was a rookie from Kentucky who loved retros but had no need for ankle insurance.

Derek Anderson, retired NBA veteran and original Jordan Brand athlete: As soon as I signed with Jordan, I had 20 pairs just for Summer League. My guy was [former Nike and Jordan designer] Gentry Humphrey. I wanted the old shoes, so we got in a meeting with Tinker and Mike.

I said, ‘I want some of those. Can we make them low?’ They said, ‘Kids don’t play in lows and you don’t want to hurt your ankles.’ I played in low-cut Converse at Kentucky and never got hurt. They said, ‘Try them out in training camp and see how it goes.’

The first day I practiced in them? I was dunking everything. 

In the [San Antonio Spurs’] locker room, Tim Duncan put on some tape and house shoes and said, ‘Check my new DAs out!’ He’s the only dude who can play in flip-flops!

It was hilarious. But the way I played, it was a shock for guys who’d been playing ball their whole life. But the fans loved them.

Other players wanted them after the game. But I didn’t know I could get more, so I only gave them to my Kentucky guys: Tony Delk, Walter McCarty, Ron Mercer. If y’all want ‘em, y’all can have a pair. But the rest of the people, I couldn’t give them out.

After I left San Antonio, I never brought them back out. I still have a pair to this day – and a black pair no one has ever seen.

6. DC chillin’

After winning over Jordan in the private runs, or invitation-only pickup games, Hoops Chicago, Bobby Simmons was soon signed to the Washington Wizards and Jordan Brand.

While most remember Jordan’s last game in Madison Square Garden as a member of the Chicago Bulls, Simmons had sideline seats for the GOAT’s last game ever in New York City.

Bobby Simmons, Jordan Brand athlete and former Wizards teammate: That moment was like riding with The Beatles.

Spike Lee and the rest are cheering their hearts out because they got to see him in person for his last night in Madison Square Garden. Patrick Ewing was our assistant coach, and Charles Oakley was our power forward! It was a helluva feeling.

Right before game time, he pulled the “Cool Grey” 11s out.

I remember the equipment manager, Charlie Butler, saying, ‘Hey Bobby, you ain’t got these!’ I said, ‘No, I don’t got those, but I will get a pair!’

He’d put on a new pair every game, and you never knew what he was going to pull out next. So if that box is over there, lemme see what’s in it.

Editor’s Note: Jordan played 43 minutes that night and dropped 39 points on 13-of-22 shooting. The Knicks won by one on a last-second basket by Latrell Sprewell.

7. Put a ring on it

Justin Taylor, former Jordan Brand designer: When I got married, I was able to custom design two pairs of 11s, and we’re the only ones that have them in the world.

A custom pair gifted to me for my wedding? That was a dream come true. It’s a moment I cherish and don’t take lightly. The brand did that for me, and it was a great show of respect, appreciation and how people there care. People really care about the people they’re working with, and storytelling is really important.

When I did those pairs, I created a little ring logo on the tongue tab that looks like an engagement ring. When they were doing some of the pairs for Ray Allen for the championship, I saw the pictures online and noticed they had used the ring I’d used for my weddings to represent the championship ring on Ray Allen’s pairs.

I went back to the promo team and said, ‘Guys, where did you get this ring? You just gave Ray Allen my engagement ring!’ [Laughs] I recreated an actual championship ring graphic if they ever did it again. But the promo pair that Ray Allen has, it has the graphic from my wedding pairs.

9. ‘Cream City‘

In 2014, Chicago native Jabari Parker made history by becoming the first official Jordan Brand athlete to hail from Duke University.

Sometimes securing exclusive Air Jordan heat meant traveling far beyond North Carolina or the Windy City.

Jabari Parker, former NBA standout and Euroleague star: We had a board of governors trip. MJ invited all of the athletes to the resort to network and escape. We had a contest where you had to put together a presentation for a shoe. The winner was going to get 1 through XX3 [complete collection of the sneaker’s first 23 models] in a custom color.

The winners were Anthony Hamilton, Carmelo Anthony and Kawhi Leonard. Anthony Hamilton’s collection is very public. He did them all in brown.

For participation, MJ said, ‘All right, everybody gets one shoe. You can pick whatever shoe, but you’re limited to two colors.’ I went with the 11.

At the time, I just wanted solid colors. I thought that was really clean because I saw the “Silver Anniversary” Air Jordan 11 and always toyed with the idea. What if I could do all blue or all pink? I played for the Bucks and thought a “Cream” colorway would be perfect.

They looked better than I imagined, like something I’d never seen before. When it bounces off of light, it can look pink, cream, or peach. 

I knew I wanted to wear those for the pictures with our white uniform. I wanted to show off that colorway and that shoe. I still have those and all the other PEs [player exclusives] I had.

That’s the only time I wore those shoes.

8. Coming from where I’m from

Michael Jordan loves basketball, business, cars, and music. The latter led him to expand his brand ambassador umbrella to include musicians such as Eminem, Travis Scott and Anthony Hamilton.

Oh yeah, Jordan also loves competition.

Anthony Hamilton, Grammy Award-winning R&B artist: It was the summer of 2015, and Michael Jordan invited us to the Bahamas. This time was different because normally he invited us to the golf tournament, where you could see everybody from Michael Douglas to, probably, even Michael Jackson. You had Tiger Woods, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul. You name it, they were there.

But this time it wasn’t about golf, it was about marketing. He wanted to get an idea from his peers, younger supporters, and his friends about what they thought about his product. What was catchy? What was edgy? What was the new thing?

So he paired us off into teams. Chris Paul had a team, Blake Griffin had a team. [My team was] Kawhi Leonard, myself, Carmelo Anthony, and a young track star named Brigetta Barrett, who was absolutely amazing.

Our team was chosen to redesign the Air Jordan 1 because he played in the shoe back in the day, and it made his foot bleed. Jordan wanted to know, besides talking trash to us, how can you make this shoe better?

He allowed us to explore and bring creativity however we saw fit. Carmelo took the lead, and he was a big fan of Game of Thrones – that was the influence. This shoe was thin-bottomed, so we recreated the sole as thick and plush. We called it the Air Jordan 1 “Bloodline.”

Not only did we create a shoe, but we also created a box and a hat. The “Bloodline” had red stitching around the sole to represent the blood. The shoe faded from one color to the next.

He was so impressed with the shoe, our design, and our presentation that we won every shoe Jordan ever made. But here’s the thing: You can only pick two colors.

I decided to go with chocolate brown. One of his guys came up to me and said, ‘Did you ever think about bubble gum bottoms?’ I said, ‘You know what? That’s a great idea.’ 

When those things came to me, I was floored! I had the best chocolate brown Jordans, and nobody had ‘em! I’m the talk of the town, and my shoe started going viral. People asked, ‘Are they coming out?’

They were one-offs. I still have those shoes to this day. I gave away a few pairs. 

But chocolate brown in every Jordan? That’s a memory that still sits right beside winning a Grammy and an NAACP Image Award to this day. My Jordans are very dear to me.

10. To the victor go the spoils

In 1999, Jordan Brand entered the football business by signing NFL star Randy Moss. From Warren Sapp to Earl Thomas, the pro football roster expanded the gridiron footprint of the Jumpman and the Air Jordan 11.

Roughly a quarter century later, Jordan Brand set its eyes on college football. The first program? The University of Michigan.

Cesar Ruiz, New Orleans Saints center and Michigan alum: The first PEs Michigan got were the Air Jordan 5 sneakers. I think only the early enrollees got them because there was a limited amount.

We didn’t have many PE cleats early, but that year we got the 11 cleats. I’d go around the locker room to the other O-line men and I’d say, ‘Bro, if you don’t want them, I need an extra pair.’

Being that I’m a big guy, I tear up those cleats pretty fast. At Michigan, I probably went through four pairs.

[Former Michigan coach Jim] Harbaugh embraced it. He wore the [Air Jordan] 7s – and no one had 7s but Coach Harbaugh. He loved it. He has his own swag: the khakis, Michigan polo, and retros on. I remember the cleats vividly. They were black, and no one else in the building had black cleats.

My first year getting PEs for cleats? It was great.

What’s coming next is even wilder than the “City Pack”

To celebrate 30 years of excellence, Jordan Brand went rogue and local with the Air Jordan 11 “City Pack.”

With the adored model entering a new era guided by youthful leadership, the newfound exploration of the 11 is just the tip of the iceberg.

Skyler Ashbaugh, lead product line manager, Jordan Brand’s North America Express Lane: We didn’t want to go on the Yelp tour [for the City Pack]. We wanted to find stories within these cities where you had to be from there.

Stories that are deeper than where a tourist might go. Nobody expected that to be the model. The 11 didn’t come up because people felt it was untouchable.

Terrance Harvey, senior manager, Jordan Brand Retro Footwear: The vision around 2025 was 11 AJ 11s. It ended up being nine, but there will be some promo things that make it out to the world at some point.

The brand is working on taking the AJ11 into the collaboration space. It’s a precious model, and we’ve kept it precious for a reason. We’ve had partners like Doernbecher and (The Whitaker Group founder) James Whitner, and a lot of people are raising their hands for the collab on the AJ11.

The brand is still ironing out those steps. We’re not ready to announce who is going to be the face of AJ11 in this new space. But you have my word that the AJ11 will go into new spaces that we’ve never taken it.

The way I approach the AJ11 is new storytelling. In future seasons, you’ll see how I begin narrating AJ11 to bring in new consumers. We’re focusing on that, especially on that model. On anniversaries, you’ll see how we recontextualize.

There are some really, really cool stories that are going to be told in 2026 and 2027, inspired by that Gentry Humphrey era of footwear. We’re bringing the Bin 23 series back. No confirmation on a Bin 11, but I’d love to run the AJ11 through the Bin process.

For spring/summer ‘26, you’re going to see a lot of things that I was able to affect. You’ll see moving forward how precious we treat this model.

The future of AJ11 will push it into a new space.

The post On its 30th anniversary, 11 untold stories about the Air Jordan 11 appeared first on Andscape.