A year ago, the Jordan Brand released the Retro 3 OG ’88 to celebrate MJ’s first slam dunk competition win on the 25th anniversary. What made the Retro 3 OG ’88 so special? Besides the hype, unusual release date, and limited production the real gem was the lack of the jumpman logo on the heel.

[ad#ctkipa]

Most retro releases have deviated from the original releases with minor changes, but most noticeably, original Air Jordan releases featured the Nike logo on the heel. Sure some buy Jordans because they’re in fashion. Copping a pair can be hard, cost over $200 retail after tax and become an instant status symbol on the common foot. However there are a lot of people, lining up, entering lotteries, or paying resale prices just to grab a piece of nostalgia. A lot of sneaker heads grew up watching MJ on the court. Maybe they were lucky enough to have a pair of J’s to wear during high school games, or pickup street games. This is what marks the true value of the Retro Jordan.

New designs, new colors (like Infrared 23) and decline in material and production quality have left a bitter taste in the mouths of Jordan enthusiast everywhere. It’s left us with the question, will it ever be as good as the original? Is it likely we will see another OG release for Jordans? How amazing would it be to see the new Carmine Retro 6 (release date May 24th) get the OG treatment? It’s hard to think nike would ignore the goldmine that the OG 88 hype created, but we’re not holding our breath.