The Jordan OG: How the First Women's Jordan Sneaker Made History

The first women’s Air Jordan was released in 1998, and if you think it looks a lot like the men’s Air Jordan 13, you’re not wrong. The AJ 13 dropped in late 1997, and the women’s Jordan that came out the following year was unashamedly inspired by its Tinker Hatfield design. 

The Jordan OG’s dimpled leather upper, herringbone outsole pattern and carbon fiber shank are the same as on the AJ 13. The women’s Jordan even released in a colorway that had a lot in common with the OG AJ 13 “He Got Game” colorway.

But the shoe was more than “just” a women’s AJ 13. As the first women’s Jordan, it had its own design features, like the omega-shaped swirl across the upper that added unique flair to the silhouette and introduced a lighter-weight mesh to what was otherwise a relatively bulky leather shoe.

It was an Air Jordan basketball shoe specifically for women, not a women’s version of the latest Air Jordan release. And that was groundbreaking.

The Jordan OG 1998 mattered more than people realized at the time of its release. It put the most significant shoe in modern sneaker history — the Air Jordan — in the women’s game. And it proved that female athletes mattered enough to get their own Air Jordan, not just the latest release in women’s sizes. 

Throughout the late ’90s and ’00s, Nike kept signing high-profile women to shoe deals. After Sheryl Swoopes followed Lisa Leslie and Diana Taurasi. Today, modern stars like Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson have their own shoes. And the brand has kept the Air Jordan close to the women’s game through collabs with the likes of Maya Moore and Kia Nurse. 

The Jordan OG was not the first women’s basketball shoe, but it was arguably the first major sneaker designed specifically for women of the modern era. It set the tone for all the shoes and shoe deals that came after, as well as projects like the Jordan Heir series.

The market for women’s basketball shoes and fashion-forward sneakers has never been bigger than it is today. We’ve come a long way since 1998. If you want shoes designed specifically for women in any number of sports or styles, you can get them. Or you can rock unisex classics like a women’s Air Jordan 1 Low, the Jordan 1 High OG women’s shoe or fresh colorways like the women’s Air Jordan 5 Retro “Blue Bird.” 

In 2020, Jordan Brand relaunched the Jordan OG to honor its cultural and historic significance. It landed looking pretty much like the original, but with design updates for the lifestyle market, like the Jordan OG “Coconut Milk” colorway. The distinctive silhouette aligns with ongoing interest in the fashion of the ’90s and the Y2K era, making these sneakers a popular fashion statement on and off the court.

As we watch the WNBA and women’s sports in general achieve unprecedented popularity, the Jordan OG’s comeback is also a reminder that women and the women’s game have always been part of the story of sneaker culture’s growth.

This isn’t 1998. Women’s sports have never been bigger. Sneakers are an integral part of fashion and sports culture. And it’s only fitting that a piece of history like the Jordan OG is back on shelves as part of the celebration of how far things have come.