Jordan 1 Retro Banned (2011)

This Retro Jordan 1 became the object of desire of sneakerheads around the world due to its legendary backstory. In 1985, Michael Jordan’s sneakers were “banned” by the NBA during his rookie season for not adhering to the league’s strict dress code. As the story of the Banned Jordans goes, Nike supposedly paid the per-game fines for Jordan to wear the black and red Jordan 1s. Although the Bred colorway of the Jordan 1 had released in 2009, the Banned 1s became the talk of the sneaker community because they featured the original “Nike Air” label on the tongue, along with an “X” on each heel. The insoles read, “On October 18th, 1985, They Were Thrown Out Of The Game.” Even the box that came with the Banned 1s was unique to this Jordan release. In addition to the design details and timeless colorway, the Banned Jordans were made of a high quality leather that made other releases of the era look basic. The Air Jordan 1s were also unique because they released exclusively at Nike Outlets on a Wednesday, not your typical Saturday release, and were marked “B-Grade” -- which usually means a cosmetic defect of some kind. However, in this case, the impressive quality had the sneaker world thinking the B stood for “Banned.”