From the Alamodome in ’96: The Air Jordan 11 Retro Low ‘Legend Blue’

Cast your mind back, if you’re able, to the mid-1990s.

Specifically I’m thinking about sports logos and uniforms, and just how different they were to today.

The ’90s were a wild time for graphic design, as you can see by simply looking at the OG teal-and-purple Charlotte Hornets unis, or the cartoonish logos featured front and center on the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors’ jerseys.

When I say they don’t make ’em like that anymore, they really don’t make ’em like that anymore.

And it’s not just the NBA — professional sports leagues around the world have moved on from the comic book-esque logos and mascots to something more stylized, as though they’ve been carved from a piece of gleaming steel.

Doing this job, writing about Jordan retro sneakers all day long, means I get to look back at archival photos from his playing days to see what he was rocking on-foot in different game situations.

In this instance, I was led down the rabbit hole to this terrific piece in SLAM about the 1996 All-Star Game uniforms.

All-Star Weekend was held in San Antonio that year and the unis were dripping with an aqua shade that perfectly encapsulates the time period.

Michael Jordan often rocked player-exclusive colorways for the All-Star Game, and ’96 was no different. That weekend, he donned a special pair of Air Jordan 11s in a colorway that would come to be known as ‘Columbia.’

The same presentation finally emerged in the retail market in retro form in 2001, and then again in 2014 under the name ‘Legend Blue.’

And that’s how it’s appearing again in 2021, in a low-top form that’s perfect for summertime wear.

The Air Jordan 11 Retro Low ‘Legend Blue’ brings back that crisp all-white upper combining patent leather and nylon mesh, with the namesake Legend Blue featuring on the heel logos, tongue tags and coating the translucent outsole.

UPDATE, 4/22: Throw back to those aqua-wearing days of the mid-90s when the Air Jordan 11 Retro Low ‘Legend Blue’ releases in Men’s and Kids’ sizing on 5/7 at finishline.com and in stores via mobile app reservation.

How to Purchase

– Available at FinishLine.com or in select stores via mobile app reservation on 5/7.

– To enter for a reservation of the Air Jordan 11 Retro Low ‘Legend Blue’ in Men’s sizing, head to our mobile app on Friday, April 30 at 3pm EST. Reservations will close on Monday, May 3 at 2pm EST.

– Reserved pairs can be picked up in store.

– STATUS members, redeem your points for more entries.

– No pairs will be sold in stores on 5/7, only at FinishLine.com

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