The Air Jordan 17 came in 2002 at two hundred dollars, the most expensive Jordan to that point, and it acted like it. Wilson Smith III designed it around jazz and golf, with flowing lines and music-note details, and it shipped in a metal briefcase with a CD-ROM inside. It was peak early-2000s excess.

Jordan wore it during his Washington Wizards run, which gives it a real if bittersweet on-court tie. The removable midfoot cover continued the shroud experiments, and the whole package leaned more luxury object than basketball shoe.

The College Blue and black and silver pairs are the ones people remember, and an OG retro has been reported for the first time in years. The 17 is remembered as much for the briefcase and the price tag as the shoe itself, a snapshot of a brand testing how far premium could go.