How The Air Jordan 3 Saved Michael Jordan's Relationship with Nike

Throughout sneakers' history, many things happened. One of the most notable was probably the signing of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson at Converse or Michael Jordan's signature at Nike, which has been entirely covered recently by the film "Air," which had great success on Prime Video.

However, another notable event could have changed the sneaker's history forever if it had happened, an event that would have canceled the Jordan Brand that was saved by a designer that everybody knows in the industry.

1987 Michael Jordan had just ended his second season with the Air Jordan 2. He scored around 37 points per game and is only the second athlete in basketball history to go over 3000 points in one season. The 1st one was, of course, Wilt Chamberlain. At Nike, everything was going well in terms of sales. However, there were two main problems to solve. The first one was Michael Jordan. Despite all the records he achieved with the Air Jordan 2, he didn't like the model and was not on excellent terms with Nike.

And for the second one, Peter Moore and Rob Strasser, the designers of the Air Jordan 1, decided to leave the company to create their brand. And what scared Nike the most was that they wanted to bring Michael Jordan with them, promising him to make his empire with them instead of relying on Nike. However, they seem not as clever as we think because they miscalculated something that cost them everything.

Peter Moore and Rob Strasser decided to call a young and inexperienced designer and told him he was in charge of designing the new Air Jordan model. For them, putting such a young designer on this project was assuring them victory in the end because Michael Jordan was very complicated with shoes, and they estimated they were the only ones who could understand Michael Jordan.

However, there was a problem. The young designer they called on that day was none other than Tinker Hatfield, who just designed the Air Max 1 at that time. And if you know a little about sneakers history, you know Peter Moore and Rob Strasser are in trouble. So, like the young genius he was, Hatfield decided to meet Michael Jordan 2 times to ask him as many questions as possible about what type of shoes he would like for next season.

Contrary to them, Tinker Hatfield wanted MJ to help him create the shoe, and like any architect, he listened. In architecture, you can't design a great house without knowing the people who will live in it. Hatfield applied that principle to the design of the shoe. So Michael Jordan would be close to him, suggesting things about inspiration, performance, personal tastes, and innovation, and Tinker Hatfield would offer something in return to complete Michael Jordan's vision. After this meeting, Tinker Hatfield and Ron Dumas had all the elements to create the favorite Air Jordan of his Airness. However, he was still far from winning this contest because Peter Moore and Rob Strasser were far from giving up.

Knowing that Michael Jordan's contract at Nike was renegotiated, Rob Strasser and Peter Moore knew it was the perfect time to make him sign with their new brand Van Grack. During the offseason, MJ was in California to play golf, and that's when Moore and Strasser decided to show what they created for him, and the project wildly convinced Michael Jordan. Also, the fact that they designed the brand around Michael Jordan convinced him. But before signing their contract, MJ wanted to see what Nike offered him.

However, he arrived at the meeting 4 hours late because, in his mind, he was already leaving Nike for Van Grack. So he sat down and said: "All right. Show me what you've got!". He wasn't expecting anything from Nike, but he was curious. Seeing this, Tinker Hatfield knew this would be the most important meeting of his life and that he wouldn't get a second chance if he missed the opportunity. That's why he stood up and started asking questions about Michael Jordan. He asked him to recall what they decided together for his next shoe. He began to show some sketches, and Jordan was already surprised because, for the first time, someone listened to what he wanted for his next signature shoe. But Hatfield knew it wasn't enough to convince Michael Jordan. That's why, without telling his bosses, he brought a shoe prototype under a black cover. He pulled the black body, and here it was, the revolution of the Jordan Brand.

Michael Jordan was shocked; he froze when he saw the pair for the first time. First of all, the team is mid, like Michael Jordan requested, but it also has the visible Air Technology in the midsole, like the Air Max 1, which greatly pleased MJ. Also, no more swoosh, and instead of that, the new Jumpman logo that Tinker Hatfield designed out of the picture he found in Peter Moore's office. Finally, the last detail that was an idea of Tinker Hatfield but that Michael Jordan loved is the Elephant Print, which is, of course, the signature touch of the Air Jordan 3.

Michael Jordan took the pair in his hands and smiled for the first time during the meeting. Peter Moore and Rob Strasser were out before they knew it because Michael Jordan was already discussing the future colorways of his new model with Tinker Hatfield, who was also very happy that MJ liked his shoe. At the end of the meeting, influenced again by his parents, who told him that was the right choice, he decided to sign again with Nike with more points on the contract, like the fact that he has to be there every time a new Air Jordan is created. They will need his validation when designing a new shoe for his line. Tinker Hatfield just saved Nike; even Phil Knight knew it and was impressed by this meeting.

Today, The Jordan 3 is one of the most famous Jordan models, with notable collaborations like the A-Ma Manière, Justin Timberlake for the Super Bowl, and Eminem. But before all of that, the sneaker made Nike the brand it is today. Without this model, we wouldn't have all the fantastic pairs we have now, including the Jordan 5, 11, and 13. And after the release of the movie "Air," it is always nice to remember that every Jordan mode has its own story, not only the Jordan 1.