There is no better way to do an overview then to bring in the old with the new. With that being said, I wanted to bring a nostalgic look on an overview and a comparison of the Jordan Jumpman Team II Retro and the original shoe that was released back in 1998.
There were some changes made to the new retro. After doing a comparison some key features and changes are:
- TPU shank replaced with thinner carbon fiber piece instead of heavier more dense carbon fiber
- Toebox synthetic leather instead of tumbled grain leather
- Heel pull tab lettering is filled in a single tone color instead of just outlined
- Thick insole utilized without EVA cushion point supports on heel and forefoot
- Lettering on misole designed in more of 180 degree manner and it is molded around the midsole
- Achilles/ankle/heel collar not as well padded as the original
- Tongue is a little bit more stiff
- Inner soft material utilized in interior of shoe not as soft, but still works well.
- Shoe fits slightly snug compared to the OG model. OG model actually more forgiving due to overlay aesthetic material and wide-foot friendly.
- Rubber traction actually the biggest surprise, because it was really gripping the floor extremely well.
All these insights aren’t a knock on the brand, but it’s just me nitpicking because I’m such a fan and enthusiast of this particular model. I’ve been asking for this to re-release, and for the first time in eighteen years, it finally has come. It was one of the best feelings to be able to obtain a shoe that you’ve grown up wearing, and still own today, that not only looked good on the court, but also played extremely well on court.
I expect this model to play pretty well as much as Jordan Brand has tried to make it as close as the original as possible. The shoe back than was already one of the best performing sneakers, so even though the technology on new shoes is more advanced, sometimes the old school feel, and simplistic basis of a performance shoe works just as well — if not better.
With that being said, this particular model is available at your local Footlocker which can be found with the locator HERE.
Kids sizes are available at Finish Line.
Do you like that Jordan Brand delivered on this model 18 years later? Do you want to see any particular Team Jordan models re-release? If so, which ones? Which ones did you have back then that gave you great nostalgia? Let me know what you think in the comment section of the video.
SZ13
Sneaker Connoisseur & Tech Enthusiast who has Brand product tested footwear for Nike/Jordan Brand/Brandblack. Currently resides in New York & loves basketball (sad Knicks fan), Michael Jordan fan, & currently working on testing products that will (hopefully) be in your future performance rotations.
