The Air Jordan 7 came in 1992 at a hundred and twenty five dollars and pushed the line somewhere new. Hatfield wrapped it in a full neoprene Huarache inner sleeve for a sock-like fit, covered it in bold geometric graphics drawn from Afropop design, and, for the first time, removed the visible Air and the Nike Air branding entirely. The bet was that Jordan no longer needed the corporate name on the shoe.

It was the right year to make that bet. Jordan won his second title in the 7 and then went to Barcelona with the Dream Team, taking Olympic gold and draping a flag over the Reebok logo on the medal stand in the Olympic colorway. Bordeaux, Hare, Olympic, and Cardinal are the names collectors chase.

The 7 is a loud, confident shoe from the peak of his powers, and its retros, especially Bordeaux and Hare, still sell out. For the deeper story on its most famous colorway, see our history of the Bordeaux.