Former Atlanta Hawks That Wore Air Jordans

Air Jordan is the most iconic basketball shoe brand of all-time. Which former Atlanta Hawks had great performances wearing them?

This week, ESPN has been counting down their rankings for the top ranked basketball sneakers of all-time. To create the list, they had a panel of sneaker enthusiasts vote on dozens of shoes. The list contains 30 of the most popular, durable, and stylish kicks from as far back as the past 100 years. They also included a set of honorable mentions, a total of 10 sneakers that were really great, but didn’t quite make the cut.

As basketball fans, we all have our own special memories of specific basketball shoes that represented a particular time of your life. Even for those that could not afford any of the name brand kicks that many athletes made popular, you would still recognize them, and perhaps your friend or teammate let you borrow a pair of theirs.

Coming up, I was infatuated with mid and high-top basketball shoes of all kinds. In my case, I can’t actually remember how I even got my hands on most of them. I’d go over to a friends house, and fall into a hypnotic trance holding up and staring at a brand new set of Air Jordan VIII basketball shoes.

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I was also in a state of jealous rage, since I had a much cheaper and older pair of Nikes. There was a very distinguishable feeling in the entire experience of purchasing some new shoes.

Just getting them home, lifting them out of the box, and taking the paper out of them was a simple joy.

There have been many great performances by Atlanta Hawks players who were wearing Air Jordan shoes.

I don’t know about you, but when I wore a really fresh pair of kicks, my confidence was much higher than when I wasn’t. It’s all about the shoes. Here are just a couple of great games by Hawks that had J’s on their feet.

Mike Bibby made his home debut for the Atlanta Hawks in style, rocking the Air Jordan XV’s in the white/flint gray colorway. This colorway was never released in stores, but as Bibby was an endorser for the Jordan Brand, he had connections that a regular sneaker enthusiast could only dream about. He finished off a victory by scoring 24 points, collecting five rebounds, and dishing 12 assists.

Below you will find another Hawk that had a preference for hooping in Air Jordans. Joe Johnson was often seen wearing the Air Jordan XII French Blues while with the Atlanta Hawks. In the contest below, he had a 28-point masterpiece against the Los Angeles Clippers. He made one of the most unbelievable shots that I’ve ever seen to put away the Clippers in this game. Joe did it all wearing not a pair of the classic retro Jordans, but a pair of team Jordans.

Some other iconic sneakers that are featured on the list are the Allen Iverson inspired Reebok Questions at no. 6, the Nike Air Force 1’s at no. 5, the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars at no. 7, and the Reebok Pump at no. 15.

Rounding out their rankings at no. 1 is the black/white/varsity red colorway of the Air Jordan XI. While they definitely picked the right shoe, I would have gone with the Concord’s colorway of black and white.

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The black and red looks good on just about any pair of Jordan’s, but the patent leather really stood out on the Concords, and appeared to be more legendary. Which Air Jordan was your favorite? Which Atlanta Hawks player wore your favorite shoe of all-time? Leave a comment below!