Air Jordan II: Slick Design And Italian Made
Year: 1986
Notice something about the 2s compared to the classic original ones? That all black and red colour design is gone and they were practically all white.
After the huge impact of the 1s, a lot of people thought these were quite an understatement. But the conspiracy theorist in me has some explanations.
We cover the story of NBA officials “banning” the 1s due to the colour design. Essentially the NBA were fining Michael $5,000 for every game he played in the red and black prototypes.
I can’t say for sure how many games he played with them, but let’s say it was 50 out of 82 first season games he played. That’s a bill of $250,000 which was a whole lot of dough 30 years ago.
And because Nike were footing that bill, it might also explain why the price increased from $65 for the 1s to $100 for the 2s.
It’s just a theory, but I’m sticking with it.
The Design
The first thing you might be wondering is “Where the heck is the Swoosh gone?”
The simple answer is that it’s not there. For some reason, it was excluded, and the Jumpman logo was not yet created. The reason for this decision is unknown, but from all my research I would have to say that these may have been one of the first Nike sneakers that do not have the typical swoosh.
They were pretty much entirely white with the exception of a red band at the back of them and a red line running along the sides. This certainly gave them a very elegant look. But I think Nike went a bit far claiming they could be worn with a Tux. But hey, that’s advertising for you.
Personally, I think they are a bit of an understatement and rather plain looking.
Maybe there was limited design because Michael suffered a serious injury in that season.
MJs 1985 Season Highlights
Just 3 games into the 85/86 season MJ went down hard with a broken bone in his foot. It would end up costing him practically the entire season, and he only played in 18 games, starting in only 7.
By the time of the playoffs he was back in form though, and he started in all 3 play off games racking up an impressive points average of 43.7.
This included a record 63 points in the second game against the Celtics. It definitely showed that he was back in action and that people would have to watch out the following year.
Air Jordan 2s In Hip-Hop Culture
Sneakers were featuring a lot more often on rap album covers, but the Nike’s were still a bit slow to show up. Where the IIs did appear is on the front cover the Heavy D & The Boyz single called Chunky But Funky from 87.
It’s old school hip hop at its best and has stood the test of time. Definitely worth checking out on Spotify.
The 2s have also been retro released and they were available up to last year. They’re definitely the rarer kind but if you want something old school that not everyone will recognise, then try to get a pair today.