Boardroom sits down with the designer of the Air Jordan 39 to hear all about about MJ’s personal involvement in fueling his newest sneaker.
For nearly four decades, the Air Jordan has represented the pinnacle of design and innovation across the athletic industry. In doing so, Michael Jordan and the brand created a signature shoe formula that all companies have been chasing ever since.
Whether it’s the 1, 3, 11 or 23 — everyone can quickly rattle off their favorite silhouettes. Over the years, though, some have been better than others. While a monster to play in, the Air Jordan 38 was a bit too technical of a look that admittedly fell flat culturally. As Joel Greenspan, Senior Design Director for Jordan Brand Performance Footwear and the first-time Air Jordan designer of the 38, revealed, Michael wasn’t as involved on the last model.
That all changed for the Air Jordan 39.
“The process for this shoe was, ‘Let’s pull Michael in. He is the signature athlete for this shoe,’” described Greenspan. “Unlike any other time that I’ve been with Jordan Brand, he was involved from the beginning to the end, with every step in between.”
The result was a more tailored and confident approach, with the 39 serving to showcase the best of the brand’s technology and materials in a more simplified effort. After designing both the Air Jordan 38 and 38 Low, the collar height of the 39 will come to life in just one version.
“We aren’t releasing a Low and a High — this is the shoe,” confirmed Greenspan.
There will also be “a really narrow and disciplined approach to color,” with only nine total colorways to be released at retail. Each can be considered clean and refined, compared to the chaos of color taking place across the industry. Priced at $200, the first to launch on July 23 will be an all-white edition with minimal red accents.
After being debuted by Orlando Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero during the opening round of the 2024 Playoffs, the latest game shoe is expected to be worn by top WNBA athletes and Olympians from several countries in Paris throughout the summer.
To hear all about Michael’s personal involvement in fueling his newest namesake sneaker, I caught up with the shoe’s designer for an inside look at the upcoming Air Jordan 39.
Nick DePaula: What was the starting point of the design approach for the 39?
Joel Greenspan: This is obviously a departure from where we’ve been. The theme of this shoe is ‘change of direction.’ That applies both to performance and the philosophy of the shoe. We wanted to move away from where we’ve been and where the industry has been with a more overtly technical and built-upon, additive process.
We wanted to get really reductive.
That came from Michael. Every step of the way, he was mentoring us and showing us what he expects. He cares deeply about his legacy and the legacy of the Air Jordan, but also about today’s athletes. He wants to make sure that we’re serving them as best we can.
The two things he really hammered to us — first, this has to be performance-led and a beast on the court. This has to be the pinnacle, with no corners cut, and the best-performing basketball shoe you can make.
On the other side of that, it was that he expects it to be housed in the simplest package that you can. He’s essentially a minimalist at this point, and he does not want widgets and do-dads on his shoe. He believes the confidence of an Air Jordan is about bold simplicity. He wants you to feel the experience of putting it on, the colorways, and the stories of his legacy that come with it. But he doesn’t want to brand his shit over the top. He wants to make sure you’re staying really confident and simple with it.
NDP: Was there anything in particular that drove his added level of involvement? Was it about elevating on where the last few models landed, or was it as simple as him selling the Hornets and having more free time?
JG: Us, as a team, really, wanted to pull him in even more. I am relatively new to Jordan Brand and new to game shoes. If I’m just going to make a shoe that costs a lot of money, I don’t think that means anything to the market.
The 38 and 38 Low were my first game shoe designs. He was involved, but I didn’t have any face-to-face time with him. He would check in during the process, but it wasn’t like a one-on-one situation.
NDP: So that brought you to Florida.
JG: Whenever he was available, we would show up in Florida to Grove XXIII and talk shoes. Two years ago was our first pitch, when we showed him the final 38 Low sample to check the box on those, and then begin the discussion for the 39.
His involvement helped us surpass a lot of the internal subjectivity. When he checked a box, we would go build it. Everything is defined by the story we wanted to tell with this shoe, and we only were able to do that because we had the full length of the process with his green light.
I wanted to have an opportunity to just really talk basketball with him. He will talk. And he has so much knowledge to share. His knowledge about basketball is obviously insane, but his knowledge about shoes and shoemaking was equally crazy to me. He was able to teach us so much about the process of creating a shoe and draping it so that the toe shape is perfect. He understands things to another level.
NDP: As you were getting to know Michael, what were some of the things in his life — perhaps luxury items that you or I have no access to — that you got visibility to that may inform future product and design details?
JG: Well, first of all, we were showing up to his personal golf course.
NDP: So, that counts. [laughs]
JG: I’d say so. [laughs] It’s really interesting though. Because he’s really transparent, and he just has an elevated scope of the world. There’s always a geek-out moment seeing which cars he’ll have parked out front of the clubhouse.
That doesn’t necessarily influence design, but we understand that that golf course is a bit of a different world for him. It’s the only place where he can feel somewhat normal. Nobody is trying to take his picture and get after him. That has become his safe haven in a way.
NDP: What were some of the gestures and visuals that you started with on the design?
JG: When we went to Florida, we wanted to understand, ‘How is the game that Michael played and epitomized, reflected today?’
We wanted to focus on the ground and the footwork of his game, which is something that kids today are focused on. We wanted to pick a move that embodies his creativity, his confidence and his winning demeanor.
The move of his that we could see very plainly in today’s game is the cross step. He’d put the ball between his legs, but already be making his next step and attacking to the basket. We put his move on a screen and said, ‘What do you think?’
He put himself right back there. That really drove what we did from a cushioning, support and traction perspective. This shoe is a lower silhouette, lighter weight, with a slimmer stance. He wanted agility in the shoe. Everything started with a conversation around this one move.
NDP: What’s the technical setup of the shoe?
JG: It’s the first time in Jordan Brand that we’re using ZoomX foam. It’s Nike’s marathon foam, that’s super resilient and extremely bouncy. There’s very little energy loss, and it feels amazing. There’s super foams across the marathon industry, and this is ours. It’s what is in the Nike Kipchoge running shoes.
We took this super midsole, and we’re housing it in this thin web cupsole. Bringing the heritage of footwear making back into the fold, in a way that is both referential and important for us. You get the up-and-down resiliency and over time, the way this shoes ages, it conforms to your foot and becomes almost like a memory foam footbed.
That is also why we went to natural materials on the upper. We were trying to use “goat” leather at first. He wants it to be supple and feel broken in, right out the box, right away. The way this leather will age over time and sit on the foot, are aspects that Michael was really pushy on. When you think about your favorite Jordans and how they age over time, that was a big part for him.
A biweekly email from industry authority Nick DePaula packed with exclusive sneaker news and access to the athletes, designers, and executives that move the business.
NDP: With Michael’s involvement being a bigger part of the starting point on this shoe, how did that drive the colorways or the textures that rounded out the design? It appears to be a more classic palette of colorways, compared to the more loud colors and graphics that kids are wearing today.
JG: He understands the need for a future approach to color that isn’t necessarily what he wore on-court, but he definitely expects the colorways to have a connection to him and the heritage. There’s little easter eggs throughout the shoe that are referential to the 9. He expects the shoes to almost serve as an homage to his game-worn models.
We took the UNC colorway and made it more sophisticated and flooded out just the TPU elements where it pops. There’s some slightly more bold colorways, and then we also have one that references his baseball days with the Barons, which he wore the 9 cleats for. There’s a story attached to everything that we did.
We took a really narrow and disciplined approach to color. There’s only going to be nine colorways at retail. It should feel special, elevated and not spread to a million different colorways.
NDP: With both the Zion 3 and now this shoe, we’re seeing a lower silhouette across the brand and more of an attacking stance. How would you describe how the design language of the basketball product has been evolving?
JG: We see that kids are expecting a lower silhouette, and they want designs that are supportive but have as much mobility as possible. Zion pushed us into a low, and the 39 is more of a low-mid. We aren’t releasing a Low and a High — this is the shoe.
NDP: I love that. I remember Brandon Ingram wore the 38 Low really early. And I had said to a friend, ‘That shoe right there should just be the Air Jordan 38.’
JG: That’s how we felt a bit too. We held ourselves to a traditional standard on that one, but I felt like the 38 Low was the 38. That’s what the shoe was about. For the 39, we wanted to build the exact height that Michael would want and make it what he would expect.
NDP: As you were going through this process, what were some of the lightbulb moments or checkpoints from Michael that either shifted the direction or confirmed you were on the right path?
JG: First of all, he told us, ‘Don’t lace up the shoes.’ That’s a process for him. You’ve seen him in the Bulls locker room, lacing up his shoes, and that’s still a ritual that he expects. When we’d bring shoes, we’d bring him an unlaced pair, and he would go through that moment.
He doesn’t evaluate a shoe from the side. That’s why he doesn’t care to look at renderings or sketches. He wants to see it on the foot, and the toe view is the view he analyzes it by.
He doesn’t wear socks, and as soon as he puts it on, that’s when he starts to analyze it for his feedback. We had versions that had split materials on the toe and different materials, but he wanted to clean it up.
He wants it to have zero distractions when you look down and have it look really clean. That’s something I’ve always appreciated about Air Jordans. The shapes of the toe designs have always been very beautiful and clean. That was something that he was able to walk us through.
NDP: When he laced them up, did he do a jab step? Was he seated? What was that experience like for you?
JG: No jab steps. [laughs] He was straight off the golf course. He’ll step around a bit and get a feel for the comfort and walk around. He’s really getting a feel for it and making sure there’s no irritation points. He’s heavy on understanding the testing process we’re going through and how it’s performing. He wants to make sure that guys and girls that wear it are feeling and performing their best. He checks on every aspect of that.
NDP: As the designer, what’s it like getting that on-foot check-off process from him in real-time? Are you nervous? Are you excited? Are you terrified?
JG: Nick, I’ll be honest. Every time I go down there, I’m terrified. [laughs] But he has been very supportive, warm, helpful and just amazing to work with and be an addition to the process.
Tate [Kuerbis] would always tell me, ‘Once he puts it on, that’s when you can tell if it’s an Air Jordan or not.’ Is it just a nice shoe, or is it an Air Jordan?
That was the moment for us. And even if it was a first prototype, we felt really good when he first put it on.
NDP: I know Gentry would always use the line, ‘Michael is the great validator.’ And you need that read of how the shoe looks on him, even though, obviously, he’s long done playing.
As it relates to the people who are playing — I know Paolo was a key piece to this, and I assume the NIL and WNBA players were heavily involved as well. What was the feedback process like of showing other players along the way what the 39 was going to be all about?
JG: We had the shoe at our Board of Governors meeting last year with everyone in the Jordan family. Tatum got to get his eyes on it really early. Mike Bibby, Carmelo and a bunch of other guys were able to check it out and give us their feedback. Chris Paul and our early brand partners were all involved in seeing it. We also had Rhyne Howard involved, as well as our NIL athletes like Kiki Rice and Kiyomi McMiller.
NDP: From a historical nature standpoint, I was born in April of ’85, right before the 1s originally released. So I’m well aware that next year will be the Air Jordan 40. How did you balance designing the 39, with knowing that the 40 may be a product that helps to define the future of the Air Jordan series and the brand beyond?
JG: My hope is that it involves as much of Michael’s involvement as possible. Hopefully, this process signifies the continued direction of shifting away from where Michael sees the rest of the industry going, which is a lot more about bold and expressive colors and graphics. He wants to keep a confidence and simplicity in mind. Time will tell.
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