First Look: Michael Jordan’s ‘Shattered Backboard’ Air Jordan Returns for Its 10th Anniversary
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One of the most coveted Air Jordan sneakers of the last decade is officially set to be reissued for its 10th anniversary. Ahead of the summertime launch, a first look at the Air Jordan 1 High “Shattered Backboard” rerelease has surfaced.
Images shared by @znseakerheadz and @solebyjc show an early look at the upcoming 2025 version of the fan-favorite sneaker. Based on this prerelease look, the new iteration appears to closely match the 2015 original.
The all-leather sneaker combines an off-white sail shade with black and Starfish orange, a color palette meant to match the Stefanel Trieste jersey worn by Michael Jordan during a 1985 Nike exhibition game in Italy where he famously broke the glass backboard.
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While Jordan’s backboard-shattering dunk is now considered iconic, it went widely unrecognized for years but has now become part of the NBA legend’s lore thanks to the internet — and Jordan Brand.
The ’15 release of the first “Shattered Backboard” Air Jordan 1 helped bring fans up to speed on the story, and the sneaker’s limited availability and high-quality build made it a huge success on the secondary market. There was so much energy around the “Shattered Backboard” theme that Jordan Brand would revisit it with twists on the concept in the following years.
“Glass was everywhere,” Jordan Brand vice president Howard White said of the dunk in a 2016 press release. “The backboard exploded. I’m looking at his eyes, his ears…looking for little bits of glass. In the moment, it was wild. It was a little scary, because we didn’t know where the glass was going. They were playing and then there was that moment. I don’t know of any moment where one can detect something otherworldly has happened, but that one has become something grand. For MJ, though, it was just a moment in the game.”
Now, for the first time ever, the original “Shattered Backboard” Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG colorway will return. The “Black/Starfish/Sail” sneaker is expected to be released in full family sizing on July 12. The SKU for adult sizes is DZ5485-008 with an anticipated retail price of $180.
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