The Air Jordan 39 came in 2024 at two hundred dollars, again from Joël Greenspan, and it broke new ground in cushioning, the first basketball shoe to combine full-length ZoomX foam with Air Zoom in the midsole. The embroidered textile upper used a computational design derived from Nike Sport Research Lab testing.

It launched in a colorway called SOL with a run of editions stretching into 2025, worn by a roster whose biggest names, Tatum, Doncic, and Zion, now each had their own separate signature lines. The 39 was the line itself, the franchise that carries Jordan’s name rather than any single current player.

That ZoomX direction set up the anniversary model that followed. The 39 is the technical groundwork for the 40.