The Air Jordan 40 has recently been unveiled. 40 years of legacy have led to this. The Air Jordan 40 will be available this July.
40
Four decades of relevance are not an easy accomplishment. Jordan Brand has recently unveiled the Air Jordan 40. The shoe offers a full-length Nike ZoomX foam with a full Zoom Strobel.
The shoe is made for the most explosive basketball players. The design is inspired by Air Jordan shoes of the past. The 40 still honors the past that Michael Jordan built, but it is very much a shoe for today’s athlete.
Beyond Jordan
For its first 13 years of existence, Nike’s Air Jordan Brand was completely reliant on its namesake to keep it alive and flourishing. Michael Jordan’s magnificent basketball career established the line of shoes and clothing as a sales juggernaut. The shoe designs were always great. But would anyone care about them if “His Airness” didn’t rule the NBA in them?
Nike and Jordan Brand knew, and likely worried, that one day MJ would have to retire from basketball for good. Despite Michael returning twice from retirement, he did eventually step away from the game for good.
What would become of Jordan Brand? Would it also retire with the man who represented it so amazingly well? Could the shoes and line of athletic clothing survive without Michael Jordan being an active member of the NBA?
Nike created the Air Jordan series. From the beginning, Nike wanted it to have its own identity. The Air Jordan II was groundbreaking because it did not have the famous Nike Swoosh on the sneaker.
The design independence helped the Air Jordan line stand out. However, it also made marketing hard without its famous endorser.
The Birth Of Jordan Brand
In 1997, Jordan Brand and Nike decided to let the Air Jordan line operate 100% independently. It was a bold decision that showed the strong belief Nike had in the brand.
The decision was likely influenced by the belief that the 1997-98 basketball season would be Michael Jordan's last. Nike needed to make a big move to show consumers that the Jumpman logo was not going anywhere. It was here to stay.
Jordan Brand understood that it was created thanks to the most loved athlete in history. To survive separately from Nike, they would need talent from the sports world to endorse their company’s products.
The first athletes to join Jordan Brand were basketball players. They included Vin Baker, Eddie Jones, Derek Anderson, Michael Finley, and Ray Allen. At the time, all of those players were young stars with bright futures ahead of them in the NBA. They all had a strong competitive nature and skill sets that were electrifying to watch.
The youthful group also personified elegance, on and off the court. That collection of players, known as the “Class of 1997,” was the embodiment of what the Air Jordan name stood for.
- Adam C. Better
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