Air Jordan III: Tale of Two Icons

In 1987, Air Jordan backed up his nickname with his first NBA Slam Dunk title. In 1988, he would win it again, and just about every other award the league handed out.

In the 1987-88 season, Michael Jordan was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, silencing critics who claimed he was a purely offensive player. Don't let that fool you into thinking MJ slacked off when the ball was in his hands.

He became the first player in the history of the NBA to win both DPOY and league MVP in the same season, since joined by only Hakeem Olajuwon in 1993-94. He still stands as the only player to lead the league in scoring and win DPOY in the same year.

Averaging 35 points and 5.9 assists, Jordan led the Bulls to their first winning season (50-32) since he entered the league in 1984, and broke another career threshold in finally leading Chicago past the first round of the playoffs.

His achievements on the court were fantastic. But by now, you know that's not the only reason we're here.

Air Jordan III

Share With the Air Jordan I and II not selling well, Jordan was getting frustrated with Nike. Enter former architect Tinker Hatfield.

Rather than design a shoe for Jordan, Hatfield designed one with him. The Air Jordan III was the first of the line that reflected Jordan's personal style, and no better examples of that than the elephant-skin design and newly designed Jumpman logo.

With Jordan wanting some sort of animal print on the shoe, Hatfield designed a gray/black elephant-print for the mudguard and toe. The Jumpman -- designed directly from a silhouette of an MJ spread-eagle dunk -- made its debut on the tongue and heel panel, replacing the wings of the AJ I and II.

Another new addition was the visible air sole, which would remain prominent in the next three models before Hatfield pulled it from the AJ VII.

Stylistically, the III was completely reconstructed from the previous models, and so was Nike's marketing campaign. Enter Mars Blackmon.

Popular director Spike Lee would join the Nike marketing team and launch a series of ads with Mars, Jordan's biggest fan. It was the first time Nike used comedy as a marketing campaign and Mars' fun-loving interactions with his boy "Money Mike" would prove to be one of the most revered ad campaigns in the Jordan line. And the one responsible for bringing the Air Jordan line to the forefront of popular culture.

FanHouse will be looking back at each Air Jordan shoe, from the first shoe that changed it all, to the present.

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