Jordan x

Description:

The Air Jordan X has the distinction for being the "retirement" shoe, but yet MJ still wore it in an NBA game. MJ's first comeback saw him sport the white/red Chicago exclusive colorway in his first game back and the shadow/red pair in the playoffs. The Air Jordan X didn't get much time on MJ's feet, and that reflected with the consumer populace. Many celebs and NBA players sported them when they first released, simply because they did NOT sell at all. Spike Lee wore the white/black colorway numerous times, and Scottie Pippen wore the white/red colorway during the season. All of this was fruitless, as the Jordan X was quickly forgotten in the consumer world ready to move past the MJ glory days.

The colorways were standard fare; with a black/red, white/unc, and white/black edition making the usual rounds. In addition to the regular general released colorways, there were five city exclusives that pushed the boundaries of a Jordan release. A Chicago color (white/black/red), along with Sacramento (Black/purple), Orlando (White/blue/silver), New York (White/blue/orange), and Seattle (white/green/yellow) gave select NBA players the ability to wear an Air Jordan and match their team uniform color:

New York = Hubert Davis
Orlando = Penny Hardaway
Sacramento = Mitch Richmond
Seattle = Kendall Gill
Chicago = Scottie Pippen

None of this helped either, as the team colorways sat on shelves and were passed over into the discount bins (with the exception of the Chicago color, which sold quite well).

The Air Jordan X wasn't really made as an everyday basketball shoe, instead many looking at it as a compendium of Jordan memories. His Airness' feats were incised in the sole to laud past achievements and accomplishments, while the upper of full grain leather and suede meshed with the simple midsole to create a simple and elegant shoe. While many did not like the look and colors, the general consensus is that the white/red/black colorway is the best among the bunch (and most limited). Still, in the Air Jordan line, the AJ X will definitely stand alone as a distinct model, and can longer be viewed as the "retirement" shoe.