Most of the sneaker industry is terrified of talking about Michael Jordan because Nike’s legal team is just that good.
But, if you’re willing to explore it, there’s plenty of amazing stories to be told about Jordan’s history with sneaker brands outside of Nike and, now, his own Jordan Brand.
For example, Jordan wanted to sign with Adidas before his mother convinced him to ultimately sign with Nike. That was the correct choice, in hindsight, but it also creates an amazing “what if” scenario that I’d love to see actualized through a sneaker of some sort.
Joe FreshGoods — the creative behind some of New Balance’s best collaborations in recent years — took that challenge on in tackling some of Jordan’s history with New Balance.
It isn’t extensive at all. But the first time we saw Michael Jordan strike his iconic jumpman pose, it wasn’t in a pair of Nikes. It was in a pair of New Balance.
The “Stuntman” 650 tells us that story in the slyest way while avoiding mentioning Jordan at all for very obvious reasons. That’s why it’s only limited to 500 pairs.
We got one for this week’s episode of Special Delivery and, man, is it amazing. Tap in to learn more about this story and the rich history here.