The History of Michael Jordan's 'Banned' Sneakers

The story goes that Michael Jordan was fined $5,000 by the NBA every time he wore the shoes during their debut in 1984 because their colors broke the league's uniform rules. The league even wrote an infamous letter to Nike in February 1985 explaining that the black and red shoes were prohibited. Nike capitalized on this, reportedly paying the fines for Jordan and creating an ad campaign that played on that forbidden fruit quality.

That may all be myth, though. There isn't any photo evidence of Jordan wearing that Jordan 1 sneaker in that colorway in an NBA game. Sleuths like Jordan collector Marvin Barias have deduced that Jordan was probably wearing the Air Ship, a non-signature Nike model, instead. While it is generally accepted now that the Air Ship was the real banned sneaker, Jordan has mostly stuck with its own version of the banned story for over 30 years.

He may not have donned it for actual games, but Jordan did wear the original black and red Jordan 1 during the 1985 Slam Dunk Contest. Its appearance at the event boosted its lore and helped burn the colorway into the brains of viewers across the globe. This remains the most notable instance of Jordan himself actually wearing the black and red Jordan 1s.

The black and red Air Jordan 1 was too powerful a sneaker not to come back in the retro era. When Jordan Brand really committed to resurrecting old models around the turn of the century, it resurfaced the shoe with a 2001 release that was commonly known as the "Bred" (as in black and red) Air Jordan 1.  This pair was reasonably close to the original, preserving the "Nike Air" branding on the tongue in an era when other Jordans used Jumpman branding. The shoes were limited 38,345 pairs produced, with each designating its place in the run on the tag inside the tongue.

The retros didn't stop there. Probably the least celebrated of them to release was the 2009 one pictured here, which arrived as part of the Defining Moments Pack. The shoe lacked the "Nike Air" branding on its tongue, using a Jumpman logo instead—a move considered sacrilege by purist collectors. Unsurpisingly, this pair doesn't fetch much on the resell market in comparison to other black and red Air Jordan 1s.

Jordan Brand really turned up the storytelling on the 2011 version of the sneaker, which was officially dubbed the "Banned" Jordan 1 for the first time. The sneaker's liner referenced the original "Banned" ad, as did the X on the back. The leather on this pair was particularly buttery, which is part of why it still resells for over $1,000. This remains among the most celebrated retro editions of the Jordan 1.

The "Banned" Air Jordan 1 that released in June 2011—the one with the X on the back and packaging referencing the original ad—was an unorthodox release that was only available at outlets. The shoe caused rare lineups at discount stores, like the infamous one in the video here that shows hopeful customers scrambling to line up as quickly as possible.

The 2013 Air Jordan 1 in black and red was, thankfully, more accessible at traditional stores than the outlet-only "Banned" pair from 2011. Still, it wasn't exactly easy to get. This shoe was a big deal at the time, as Jordan was going hard with "Nike Air" versions of the Jordan 1, which were scarce on the market prior to this set of retros. It has since fallen in stature in the wake of better retro releases. It's worth nothing that this pair arrived before the "Banned" nickname was universal for this colorway—most used the "Bred" portmanteau instead when they dropped.

After Jordan Brand "remastered" the shape of its retro models in an effort to make them more like the originals, it started a strong run of Air Jordan 1s. This "Banned" Air Jordan 1 released in the remastered era, featuring a tumbled leather that wasn't totally like the material from the 1985 release but was appreciated nonetheless. This marked Jordan Brand leaning into the "Banned" mythos again—the shoe was officially dubbed with that moniker in the 2016 retro.

Around the same time, Nike dropped a limited 501-pair run of the shoe with an all-satin upper alongside matching apparel on Oct. 18, 2016. The day is signicant in Jordan Brand history—the NBA's original complaint about Jordan's flashy shoes cites that he wore them "on or around" Oct. 18, 1984. While it's not very close to the originals thanks to the luxurious material, this one goes for big money. Resellers can ask upwards of $2,000 for the Air Jordan 1 Satin.

"Banned" Jordans had a big year in 2016. In addition to retros of the black and red Air Jordan 1s, Jordan Brand created an Air Jordan 31 inspired by the style. This silhouette in general drew heavily from the Air Jordan 1, hence the connection. While it made for a cool brand storytelling moment, the "Banned" Jordan 31 was not met with great excitement from sneaker consumers.

The latest iteration of the shoe came in 2017, when Jordan Brand remade the original black and red Jordan 1s with Flyknit. The release from that September was welcomed by most, despite Jordan fans' usual aversion to classics made over with new materials. That being said, the modernized "Banned" Jordan 1 take is nowhere near as collectible as the retros fashioned in the original leather.