Air Jordan 3 NRG “Tinker”

Air Jordan 3 NRG “Tinker”

Justin Timberlake’s performance at the most recent Super Bowl had some polarizing responses. With that being said, most of the sneaker world had a pretty predictable response to his footwear.

We all just wanted to know what Air Jordan 3’s the man was rocking. Though it was mostly camouflaged by the White upper, a closer look showed the addition of a Swoosh on the lateral panels, adding some more Nike branding.

It turns out that it’s a celebratory release, commemorating one of the best pieces to come out of Tinker’s imagination. Here, we get a look at another colorway, the Air Jordan 3 NRG “Tinker”.

Originally released back in 1988, this was the first bit of the Jordan line that Tinker Hatfield worked on. Known as “The Architect,” the visionary designer went with some stunning design details. Perhaps most notably, the Air Jordan 3 was the first time the brand debuted the lauded elephant print graphic.

This is part of the reason why this shoe remains one of the all-time most popular from the retro line. On a more subtle note, we also see that the Wings logo disappears here. This would be the first in a few logo-related decisions that Tinker would make.

On this latest rendition, we see some additional branding as well, including a Nike print on the inside panels. The elephant print is also a nice bring-back touch.

This year marks the Air Jordan 3’s 30th anniversary, and boy did this shoe see some great times. Of course, most hoop heads will remember the year 1988 as the famous Jordan v. Wilkins Dunk Contest.

Not only did the two show off some imaginative slams, Jordan practically won the whole thing on one particular move. A leap from the free throw line, right arm extended upward and legs parted on impact effectively gives us the Jordan logo we know today.

Mike also does it with a crisp pair of 3’s that had just debuted at the time. Keep your eyes peeled for these bad boys!