Air jordan VIII Playoffs -Sep 2023

[JRepp23]

I feel like one of the reasons why there wasn’t more colorways on the VIII on that initial run is because of how specific they got with those little touches 🤷‍♂️…Plus MJ’s retirement took at least one more colorway off the table…

I still think something close to this is what he would have worn the first half of that 93/94 season.

 

[vegetaray123]

I still think something close to this is what he would have worn the first half of that 93/94 season.

I could see those for sure…There was actually a couple of samples that were made up in kids sizes…The “Paprika” pair just released this year in kids sizes of course, but the other pair is along those same vibes as the the “alternate” retro’s you posted…Being predominantly white that is…

Notice that, once again, they changed up the graphic print and almost omitted it completely on the white pair, and the Paprika’s had a completely different tongue tag than the other pairs…But MJ retired and Nike was set on the Jordan line ending for “new” models…Thankfully Tinker pressed on despite being told not to…

 

[Maximus Meridius]

I always thought the playoff 8's was the worse ones. They ok but last. I had the OG white/reds and blk/chromes that retroed in 03. Super comfortable. Still got 'em in my closet somewhere.

 

[thekillerj23]

Damn. Just assumed the playoffs had the comic insole too, these were my first pair of Jordan’s ever when I was 5, my 2007’s sole just seperated a month ago, so perfect timing

 

[JRepp23]

I could see those for sure…There was actually a couple of samples that were made up in kids sizes…The “Paprika” pair just released this year in kids sizes of course, but the other pair is along those same vibes as the the “alternate” retro’s you posted…Being predominantly white that is…

Notice that, once again, they changed up the graphic print and almost omitted it completely on the white pair, and the Paprika’s had a completely different tongue tag than the other pairs…But MJ retired and Nike was set on the Jordan line ending for “new” models…Thankfully Tinker pressed on despite being told not to…

The alternate pair would have followed the playoff perfectly imo. With the matching graphic plate and all. Followed by Powders at the ASG bringing the white and black pair for the rest of the season. I just cannot see him wearing the paprika pair or the bland all white version either.

 

[AIR J XIII]

I still think something close to this is what he would have worn the first half of that 93/94 season.

I could see those for sure…There was actually a couple of samples that were made up in kids sizes…The “Paprika” pair just released this year in kids sizes of course, but the other pair is along those same vibes as the the “alternate” retro’s you posted…Being predominantly white that is…


Notice that, once again, they changed up the graphic print and almost omitted it completely on the white pair, and the Paprika’s had a completely different tongue tag than the other pairs…But MJ retired and Nike was set on the Jordan line ending for “new” models…Thankfully Tinker pressed on despite being told not to…

I don't believe another VIII would have dropped, as Mike was wear-testing the IX in the 1993 playoffs and they were produced in time to drop in Nov. 1993. Keep in mind MJ had just retired in October.

Spoiler

 

[zombiejohnny]

Or, it could’ve been it was expensive to produce at its time.
Retail was $140, which was outrageous in 1993

Woah $140?! I always thought they retailed for $125 when they originally released.

 

[fdub]

Woah $140?! I always thought they retailed for $125 when they originally released.

Nope, retail was $140. The Jordan 7’s retailed for $130. When the 9’s released, they dropped down to $125.

 

[vegetaray123]

I don't believe another VIII would have dropped, as Mike was wear-testing the IX in the 1993 playoffs and they were produced in time to drop in Nov. 1993. Keep in mind MJ had just retired in October.

Spoiler

Nike’s normal release setup would’ve generally had one more version of the 8’s release in the fall of ‘93 with the new model debuting the following spring…But have to keep in mind that Mike was telling people behind the scenes as early as late ‘92 that he was thinking of retiring, or outright that he was finished after the ‘93 season…

Nike higher ups were fairly convinced that once Mike was gone then people wouldn’t be willing to buy “new” shoes the athlete endorsed…There was no set precedent for that at the time…Really the only sneakers they knew people would be willing to buy from retired basketball players was older models that they’d worn while playing in their prime ~Puma Clyde / Suede, Converse All Star ~ for example…This is why they hastily told Tinker to stop designing “new” Jordan models and the focus quietly shifted to re-releasing older Jordan sneakers…Tinker of course continued work on what would become the 10’s on his own as kind of a tribute shoe to MJ (List of career achievements on the outsole)…

Issue was that they were stuck with the 9’s since they’d already spent money to develop the shoes and in fact had already started early production…As a result they shifted the normal release routine and bumped the 9’s up to the fall of 1993 likely hoping that they could still garner sales on Mike’s “new” model, that they’d already all that money on, even though he wasn’t an active NBA athlete…The 8’s got cut and those production resources got shifted to the 9’s…The sooner they released the shoes the fresher Mike “The Basketball Star” would be on people’s minds…Again it was new territory for the sneaker world…They needed to speed up the debut of the 9’s so they wouldn’t lose out on the money they’d already spent on them, and they might be able to capitalize on Mike’s name while this ~ shocking surprise retirement ~ was still fresh…Nike, not being one’s to miss a possible NEW marketing strategy even had the Steve Martin commercial campaign that showed Mike STILL playing basketball under various aliases…They were worried Mike “the basketball player” would slip from people’s minds, clearly…

The 9’s sold, and they sold well…Meanwhile the re-release or what they called the “retro” models hit deep discounts…Basically exact opposite what Nike execs initially expected to happen…All the kids wanted MJ’s “new” sneaker for Christmas of 1993 so their play to capitalize on MJ while he was still was still fresh on people’s minds worked…

All this is why the 8’s had only three colorways to actually release and a lifespan that lasted from February ‘93 to May ‘93, far shorter than any other Jordan model…If not for Mike retiring there for sure would’ve been at least one more colorway of the 8’s to release and the 9’s wouldn’t have debuted until early 1994…

But it all worked out for everybody…Tinker got to continue working on “new” Jordan models…The new Jordan signature got shifted from the traditional spring (All Star Game) release to the fall (Start of the NBA Season) release that would continue all the way all the way to the 16’s which shifted back to the early in the year…Plus we wouldn’t have gotten you’re favorite model (13’s) if the 9’s didn’t land like they did…So the last 8’s colorway, whatever it would’ve been, getting cut was for the greater good …

 

[zombiejohnny]

Nope, retail was $140. The Jordan 7’s retailed for $130. When the 9’s released, they dropped down to $125.

I wonder why they were more expensive. I mean there's def a lot of materials used on 8's so that might have been why. Also, didnt the $125 price point stick around for the 10 and 11 as well?

 

[akademikgenius]

Black chromes were one of my favorites back in high school

 

[zombiejohnny]

Black chromes were one of my favorites back in high school

They go well with all outfits because of that black and grey color scheme.

 

[SR-71]

Nike’s normal release setup would’ve generally had one more version of the 8’s release in the fall of ‘93 with the new model debuting the following spring…But have to keep in mind that Mike was telling people behind the scenes as early as late ‘92 that he was thinking of retiring, or outright that he was finished after the ‘93 season…

Nike higher ups were fairly convinced that once Mike was gone then people wouldn’t be willing to buy “new” shoes the athlete endorsed…There was no set precedent for that at the time…Really the only sneakers they knew people would be willing to buy from retired basketball players was older models that they’d worn while playing in their prime ~Puma Clyde / Suede, Converse All Star ~ for example…This is why they hastily told Tinker to stop designing “new” Jordan models and the focus quietly shifted to re-releasing older Jordan sneakers…Tinker of course continued work on what would become the 10’s on his own as kind of a tribute shoe to MJ (List of career achievements on the outsole)…

Issue was that they were stuck with the 9’s since they’d already spent money to develop the shoes and in fact had already started early production…As a result they shifted the normal release routine and bumped the 9’s up to the fall of 1993 likely hoping that they could still garner sales on Mike’s “new” model, that they’d already all that money on, even though he wasn’t an active NBA athlete…The 8’s got cut and those production resources got shifted to the 9’s…The sooner they released the shoes the fresher Mike “The Basketball Star” would be on people’s minds…Again it was new territory for the sneaker world…They needed to speed up the debut of the 9’s so they wouldn’t lose out on the money they’d already spent on them, and they might be able to capitalize on Mike’s name while this ~ shocking surprise retirement ~ was still fresh…Nike, not being one’s to miss a possible NEW marketing strategy even had the Steve Martin commercial campaign that showed Mike STILL playing basketball under various aliases…They were worried Mike “the basketball player” would slip from people’s minds, clearly…

The 9’s sold, and they sold well…Meanwhile the re-release or what they called the “retro” models hit deep discounts…Basically exact opposite what Nike execs initially expected to happen…All the kids wanted MJ’s “new” sneaker for Christmas of 1993 so their play to capitalize on MJ while he was still was still fresh on people’s minds worked…

All this is why the 8’s had only three colorways to actually release and a lifespan that lasted from February ‘93 to May ‘93, far shorter than any other Jordan model…If not for Mike retiring there for sure would’ve been at least one more colorway of the 8’s to release and the 9’s wouldn’t have debuted until early 1994…

But it all worked out for everybody…Tinker got to continue working on “new” Jordan models…The new Jordan signature got shifted from the traditional spring (All Star Game) release to the fall (Start of the NBA Season) release that would continue all the way all the way to the 16’s which shifted back to the early in the year…

I still remember clearly the day that one of my friends, who happened to be a Nike EKIN at the time had just come back from a visit at Beaverton around October of '93, telling me the news that people at the HQ confirming that there would be no more new J's after the 9, maybe some retros but even then they were still not 100% sure...I was so disappointed! I couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it.

And what do you know plans changed and the following Summer Slam Magazine had a preview picture of the AJ10 next to an outdoor basketball court fence with a blurred background! Does anyone remember? Man I used to look at that picture every damn day while in college, dreaming they would eventually release. I kept it and I still have the picture somewhere burried in boxes. I'll see if I can find it eventually.

Now when the 10's came out, we were told the same thing: that the AJ10 would be the very last this time with and I remember being so mad about the news for the second year in a row. Around December that very same info was confirmed by a higher placed individual at Nike...and what do you know? Mike came back about 3 months later and the rest is history!

 

[fdub]

I wonder why they were more expensive. I mean there's def a lot of materials used on 8's so that might have been why. Also, didnt the $125 price point stick around for the 10 and 11 as well?

Yep, Jordan 9, 10, and 11 got the MSRP of $125 in it’s respected years of release. Then, the Jordan 12’s went up to $135-$140(black/red and Playoff colors got the $5 bump because they both featured Zoom air). After that, 13, 14’s, and 15’s got that $150 MSRP. Everything else got raised after that.

 

[zombiejohnny]

Yep, Jordan 9, 10, and 11 got the MSRP of $125 in it’s respected years of release. Then, the Jordan 12’s went up to $135-$140(black/red and Playoff colors got the $5 bump because they both featured Zoom air). After that, 13, 14’s, and 15’s got that $150 MSRP. Everything else got raised after that.

Interesting. I always thought all the og colorways of the 12s had zoom air. So the cherries, taxis and obsidians had full length air like the 11s but not zoom?

 

[fdub]

Interesting. I always thought all the og colorways of the 12s had zoom air. So the cherries, taxis and obsidians had full length air like the 11s but not zoom?

Correct! That’s why people were saying the OG taxi’s were extremely stiff and heavy for playing ball due to it only having a full length air unit.

 

[vegetaray123]

The regular air sole units on the first three colorways of the Jordan 12’s is true, as well as the pricing for the model…Zoom didn’t get used until the Flu-Game’s and Playoffs like fdub said…

Couple old Eastbay (RIP ) show the pricing differences…Notice “full length Air-Sole unit” in the description for the 12’s, while the Pippen 2’s and Jumpman Pro’s specifically say “Zoom Air”…

 

[zombiejohnny]

Correct! That’s why people were saying the OG taxi’s were extremely stiff and heavy for playing ball due to it only having a full length air unit.

Wow I cant imagine 12s without zoom thats what made em so comfy.

 

[fdub]

Wow I cant imagine 12s without zoom thats what made em so comfy.

Yeah, I’m sure they wouldn’t feel no where near comfy as they do with Zoom Air. Honestly, it would probably feel uncomfortable

 

[zombiejohnny]

Yeah, I’m sure they wouldn’t feel no where near comfy as they do with Zoom Air. Honestly, it would probably feel uncomfortable

Yeah because the problem with the 12s is that besides the heel area, the actual midsole is such a hard piece of rubber that doesn't have any compression so the zoom air made up for that.

 

[skala]

Air Jordan 8 Playoff To Return For Its 30th Anniversary - Sneaker News

The Air Jordan 8 Retro Playoff is set for a highly anticipated comeback. Set to release in Fall 2023, this pair sports a black-based upper with red and white accents. For a first look, release info, and more, check out the Air Jordan 8 Retro Playoff here!

www.soleretriever.com

 

[72and10]

This dude spreading false info like wildfires. I think it was fdub like 5 years ago tried claiming that only later colorways of original 12s had zoom and I posted step by step pics of me breaking down my original 1996 taxis, which of course had zoom in them. Every 12 originally had zoom cushioning. The narrative that’s sprung up in recent years that only certain colorways had zoom is baffling.


Don’t get too wrapped up in Eastbay product descriptions as they were famous for printing incorrect tech specs. If there’s a way to see my old posts from a hundred years ago I would be more than happy to shut this dude’s narrative down, again.


Also, out of all of my original jordan 8s from 1993 they ALL still have the foot locker sticker that says $125 except my playoff pair which for some reason has a $130 sticker on the box. While it’s certainly possible that stores in your region or area independently raised the price of them to $140, I’m quite confident that the actual MSRP of aj 8 was $125. Hell man, a quick search of the webs you’ll find tons of valuable information on original pricing. 7s were $125 as well in 1992.

 

[72and10]

And please understand I’m not on here trying to redneck or anything. Just trying to clear the misconceptions.

 

[vegetaray123]

And please understand I’m not on here trying to redneck or anything. Just trying to clear the misconceptions.

That’s what NT used to be known for…Otherwise the history gets lost…Now a days on NT though, not so much…

Also find your info if you can…I’m super interested in that…The non-zoom in early pairs of 12’s was definitely the info this board was putting out around the time I joined…Learning new things about shoes decades after they release …

 

[72and10]

That’s what NT used to be known for…Otherwise the history gets lost…Now a days on NT though, not so much…

Also find your info if you can…I’m super interested in that…The non-zoom in early pairs of 12’s was definitely the info this board was putting out around the time I joined…Learning new things about shoes decades after they release …

For sure man! I just got off work and fumbled my way all the way back to 2017 on here to find my old pics lol.

Hopefully this is the last time that there’s any confusion on the zoom versus not zoom jordan 12 debate, lol.