Gallery: Michael Jordan's Rookie Sneaker Moments

Real sweat or carefully applied water? Only a stylist knows for sure. OK, and MJ, too. Note the plain "AIR JORDAN" lettering on the ankle, rather than the familiar ball and wings logo. #prototype

Nope, Mike didn't start his career in the Air Jordan 1 — rather in the Bruce Kilgore-designed Air Ship, which was a sequel to his rather successful Air Force 1.

The sneakers, the uniform, the hairline — over the years everything would change. Except for the tongue.

Mike wore the Air Ship a LOT, as a matter of fact. And while it hasn't gotten the retro love that, say, the cursive Bulls jersey did, it's at least remembered more fondly than Steve Stipanovich (top left).

It's harder to ID in that "White/Natural" colorway, but yup, those were Air Ships, too. The Air Ship featured a cantilever-style outsole that was made to stabilize the heel and absorb shock.

"Look, all I want is my signature shoe and some longer shorts. Is that so hard?"

LeBron James invented the chasedown block, huh? Tell that to Dan Roundfield. #pinnedyourshit

The original Air Jordans looked great from the get-go. And MJ's red laces really need to find their way onto a retro release. Bin 23?

This is not something that guards in the '80s wanted to see. The whole "dobermans" thing came a lot later, but Mike was a defensive beast from the first second he stepped into the League.

Red laces again? Again and again! That mid-forearm wristband was there to stay, too.

MJ averaged 38.3 minutes per as a rookie, so it's not THAT rare that someone got a shot of him sitting on the bench. Pretty sure that's Chris Engler sitting next to him. Who? Exactly. (Oh, and check the midsoles on those Jordans — prototypes?)

Black laces, still unstoppable.

They came into the League together, played on the Dream Team together, and went into the Hall of Fame together. Michael Jordan and John Stockton got stories to tell.

As universal as the "Banned" story is, it's difficult to find a shot of Mike actually playing in the Black/Red Air Jordan 1s. He sure entered the Slam-Dunk Contest in a pair, though. 2 Chaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnzzzzzz.

Ever the savvy marketer, Mike wasn't about to wear the same colorway of his new signature shoes in the dunk contest and the All-Star Game. Meanwhile, Kareem could only look at the youngster's hairline with unabashed envy.

The Milwaukee Bucks were one of those good-but-not-good-enough teams that were tormented by Jordan in the mid-'80s. Cute that they thought a doubleteam would work — at least they sent two guys in Nikes.

Michael Jordan's BEEN doing basketball camps! The "Brixton Basketball Club" on the kids's shirts implies London — just one more thing we don't know for sure. Seems safe to assume this was the summer of '85.