But in order to Air Jordan 11 win a championship, Jordan had to give in and buy into the team concept. Similarly, in order for Jordan Brand to have any chance of succeeding on the level they had envisioned, he was going to have rely on a younger generation of athletes  especially after he retired  and have them speak for him. The shadow of MJ looms large for anybody who wants to dare sign a Jordan Brand contract. Yes, it's easy to say just sign the deal and you get free retros forever, but it's more than that. A Jordan Brand athlete is held to a high standard and as you'll see on this list, it's a tough act to follow and not everybody who has rocked the Jumpman has gone on to instant greatness. But MJ and his team saw something in each of these athletes at one point in time; a glimmer of hope and limitless potential.

The honor of being forever known as a charter Jordan Brand school goes to North Carolina A&T, who until recently was still being equipped with exclusive Air Jordans. Eventually, North Carolina would make the jump and even Jordan himself has provided young Tar Heels with shoes and sage advice ever since. When Jordan Brand blesses you with a signature shoe called the "Super Freak," you better have the amazing athletic ability to back it up. Not only did Moss carve up defenses during his first stint Air Jordan 11 Retro in Minnesota and his record-breaking run with New England, he did it with such flair that no wide receiver has been able to replicate since, Megatron or Odell be damned. Moss made one-handed catches an everyday occurrence and often burned Pro Bowl defensive backs so badly that John Madden ran out of superlatives for him.

There were times that you just had this feeling that he would just try weird things on the field just because he was good enough to pull Air Jordan 11 Space Jam it off. He was super freaky, yow& . The #FashionKing took over the Dwyane Wade spot as being the man tasked with introducing the new Air Jordan to the world. It seems unlikely he will be at the reveal of the XXX on Thursday, but count on him to be one of the first, if not the first, Jordan Brand athlete to rock the newest Air Jordan on the court. When Dwyane Wade "came home" (the marketing catchphrase when he moved from Converse to Jordan Brand), he has won an All-Star Game MVP, almost won the regular season MVP, made a few All-NBA and All-Defensive teams and reached the NBA Finals twice and won one. One of the biggest sneaker coups of the past few years was made even more special when Michael Jordan essentially handed the keys to the kingdom over to Wade, making him the man to continue the Air Jordan legacy while also getting chance to shine on his own with Air Jordan 12 his signature Fly Wade line.

Have we finally reached a point where a new Air Jordan just doesn't move the needle anymore? Nope, because in spite of adidas and Kanye successfully reinventing themselves, the world still stops for the next Air Jordan. It may not have the co-sign of the Kardashian-West social media empire, but every major news outlet in the world and every sneakerhead will have something to say about the new Air Jordan, especially one that hits a milestone such as the 30. It will be talked about, dissected and chances are, people won't like it. But people didn't like the Air Jordan 20 when it dropped a decade ago, but it sold very well when it got a retro release last year. People were not feeling the Air Jordan 10 because MJ was off playing baseball and yet we got people clamoring for the Double Nickel and the Bulls Over Broadway last year.

The shoes were on display, all three pairs. The Air Jordan 32 Rossa Corsa, the Air Jordan 32 Bred, and the Air Jordan 32 Low in Black and Red. 10:00 pm  Once the unveiling commenced we were given a chance to try out the shoe on-court. The court where we played in was on the roof top as well.. Yes, the set-up was as cool as it sounds. Jordan Brand gifted us a pair of the Air Jordan 32 along with some Jordan Brand apparel to match with it. We suited up, ran some drills and played a quick game to test out the latest and greatest from Jordan Brand. Not pictured, the endless amount of food and drinks, including an entire pig leg, yes pig leg. Edit: Shout out to russbegston for snapping a pic of the gigantic pig leg. My opinion on the shoe? I dig it. I've always wondered what our favorite retros would look like in a modern aesthetic.

My first pair was actually the fire red which I got for Shooting Camp that summer, and somehow, I was able to track down a pair of cements still in August, which I wore for my Junior year of hoops. When I put this shoe on it was like a got into a Ferrari. The comfort, the flexibility, it was one of the lighter shoes of its time, and of Air Jordan 12 Retro course, it was a Jordan. This shoe gave me confidence, and it turned heads on the court. This shoe made me play better, jump higher. All the things that usually go through your mind when you get a new pair of shoes& in elementary school. While the fire reds are long gone, I still have that pair of cement Air Jordan 4s. I can't bring myself to get rid of them, even though I got a pair of those 99 retros. That 4, that pair of cement 4s were my favorite and to this day remain my favorite.