Air Jordan XIII | Designer : Tinker Hatfield | Released : 1997

Michael Jordan attacked the court – and opponents – with the quickness, power, and ferocity of a predatory cat. Tinker Hatfield tapped into this feel for the Air Jordan XIII, not even realizing at the time that some of MJ’s friends already had been calling him the “Black Cat.”

Released on Nov. 1, 1997, the Air Jordan XIII was loaded with both performance and design elements. Perhaps the most prominent feature was a hologram on the upper that resembled the eye of a panther, while the outsole featured a paw-like design. The XIII also featured Zoom Air in the heel and forefoot, and a Phylon lightweight-foam midsole. That and podular tooling made this possibly the most comfortable Air Jordan in the series.

A carbon fiber shank in the midfoot lent torsional rigidity, and an asymmetrical collar was designed to balance ankle support with flexibility needed for hard cuts.

The XIII originally was released in five colorways for the mid and two for the low. MJ favored the white-based colorways at home and the black-based on the road. He wore the mid through the 1997-98 season and into the playoffs (until he introduced the AJ XIV in the 1998 finals against Utah, beating the Jazz for a third straight championship).

That season, MJ was voted to his 12th All-Star Game, where he again earned MVP. He also won his record-setting 10th straight league scoring title and was named first-team All-NBA and first-team All-Defense. MJ’s sixth NBA championship would net him his sixth NBA Finals MVP honor as well.

Link: Air Jordan XIII