Michael Jordan changed the sneaker industry when he signed with Nike and dropped the ‘Air Jordan 1’. Despite Converse having a chokehold over the basketball performance shoe market due to guys like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Julius Erving backing them, Jordan’s sneakers reigned supreme almost instantly.
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Nowadays, Jordans like the 1s, 4s, 11s, amongst others, have become staples in streetwear culture. However, their intended use has always been for performance on NBA hardwood. The Air Jordan 1, for as good as it looks, was a performative shoe that Michael Jordan dropped 28+ points per game in, in his rookie year.
Fast-forward to Jordan’s last game at Madison Square Garden as a Bull in 1998 and he admitted that his feet were killing him while wearing the 1s, even revealing that his sock was ‘soaked in blood’. So, when Shaquille O’Neal tried to wear them, he experienced a similar level of discomfort.
Shaquille O’Neal on why he’ll never wear Air Jordans
Shaquille O’Neal is a size 22 in shoes. As expected, it’s quite hard to find shoes that fit ‘The Big Aristotle’. Despite him having his own brand of Shaq shoes, he does like to wear shoes from other athletes from time to time.
He did so with the Jordans 1s and it was an experience he would never forget. He would go on to reveal that the Michael Jordan shoes that he wore gave him corns due to him wearing a size lower than he should’ve. However, 1s being uncomfortable is a complaint that many users have had over the years.
“I tried them on when I was walking to school and they were just hurting. That was the last time I had a pair of Jordans. I have corns now because of those shoes,” said the Lakers legend.
Shaquille O’Neal walked out on $57 million
Shaquille O’Neal was originally signed with Reebok and had his own line of shoes. The ‘dunkman’ logo on them was actually inspired from Jordan’s ‘jumpman’ logo. However, when he was told by a mother out in public that his shoes were too expensive for her to buy for her children, he changed everything.
Shaq broke out of his deal with Reebok that cost him $57 million and instead made a line of affordable shoes with an average price of $30 that sell at Walmart. To date, he’s sold hundreds of millions of pairs.
