The love for sneakers has percolated from athletes to fans and naturally to sports analysts as well. TNT’s Ernie Johnson is known to boast the best sneaker game among the ‘Inside the NBA’ crew. However, the 67-year-old has never really expounded on this matter, until last night, when the veteran analyst was seen rocking an incredible pair of unreleased, black Air Jordan 11s at the TNT set.
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To suffice it, Ernie deservedly received some woos from the crowd for his great choice of styling. During the broadcast featuring Draymond Green, Kenny Smith urged Johnson to reveal the kicks he was sporting on live national television. Without much hesitation, Ernie moved towards the camera to proudly display his shoes.
Ernie had to show off his feet heat 😮💨🔥 pic.twitter.com/4TiA18vqsK
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 23, 2024
Amidst the rest of the panel wailing in awe of his sneaker game, Smith took it a step further, saying,
“Those are $5000 on the black market!”
Charles Barkley, in particular, was quite awed seeing Ernie’s kicks as he couldn’t stop expressing his excitement at seeing his fellow host don the classic AJ11.
Nevertheless, this isn’t the first time Ernie Johnson’s shoe game, or rather Jordan 11s, in particular, caught everyone in a frenzy. During the 2021-22 season playoffs, for the Western Conference Game 5, he wore a pair of white “Win Like 82” Air Jordan 11s that also caught the attention of several sneakerheads.
Ernie Johnson is posted up at WCF Game 5 in the “Win Like 82” Air Jordan 11 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/nxiDVqQoGY
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) May 26, 2022
Johnson’s love for collecting sneakers comes from his long relationship with Nike and Jordan. In an interview with GQ Sports, he revealed how Nike would send him several of their sneakers. He was unsure whether he would ever find the need to wear basketball shoes.
However, once Johnson realized he could style those kicks with his suit, there was no going back. It seems he is partuclarly in love with Jordan 11s, maybe because of the legacy it carries.
Ernie Johnson rocked the ‘Space Jam’ Air Jordan 11
The AJ11 Space Jam has a history like no other. Since its re-launch in 2009, the shoe line is credited for kicking off the modern sneaker boom amongst the younger generation.
The popular colorway of the AJ11, that Ernie Johnson wore at the broadcast, was the same as that of Michael Jordan in the 1996 animated film ‘Space Jam’. This shoe was only produced as a sample until its first official retail release in 2000. The shoe line later occasionally released various other sneakers, including the AJ11 ‘High Space Jam’, to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2016.
This is the first time a standard version of the shoe line is being made available to the public with a relaunch this summer. The retro version will be available in full family sizing, with prices beginning at $190 for men. Surely, a classic pair!
