Celebrate The 20th Anniversary Of ‘He Got Game’ With The Classic Air Jordan Retro 13

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since ‘He Got Game’ hit theaters as one of the most iconic basketball movies ever – no debate. The film not only showed a side of basketball that people sweep under the rug but was a debut for an Air Jordan shoe that Mike hadn’t even worn on the court yet. He Got Game came out on May 1st, 1997 and it wasn’t until October 31st, 1997 when the Chicago Bulls played the Boston Celtics that Jordan broke out the Air Jordan 13s on court at the Fleet Center in Boston. Leave it to Spike to have a pair of J’s before MJ. Thanks to Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, we were already accustomed to the shoe before that night, thanks to so many scenes in the movie.

In the film, Jake Shuttlesworth had just gotten out of jail and needed some new kicks, so he hit up a store and the associate helping him steps out of the back with a clean silver box and he kneels down to get on Jake’s level and whips out the right shoe. The look on Jake’s face is somewhere between shock & awe and  hell yeah, not to mention they were “one-fiddy” after tax. From there on out you rarely saw Denzel in the movie without the shoes on his feet. The iconic scene of him playing Jesus (Ray Allen) one on one spoke volumes in what it meant to both characters and the footwear stood out.

Hyped as “the lightest Air Jordan ever made,” the 13 became the first sneaker in Nike’s history to be designed on a computer, using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator on an Apple Macintosh. The Jordan 13 wasn’t like anything before it and it was debuted to the world unlike any other sneaker then which is probably why it became an instant classic.

Last month we got another ‘He Got Game’ inspired sneaker with the Air Jordan Retro 1 that honored the anniversary with the colorway paying homage to the Lincoln High jerseys in the movie. Now, the pair everyones been waiting for is almost here. This Retro 13 comes with all its original details intact, from the White and Black tumbled leather upper to the rich suede on the bottom half of the upper to the classic Red, White and Black podular outsole and holographic bubble.

Grab your pair of the Air Jordan Retro 13 ‘He Got Game’ on August 3rd at Finishline.com.