Sneaker Release: Air Jordan 12 Retro ‘The Master’

This article was originally featured on the City Gear blog in February 2016. Not all products in this collection are currently available on Hibbett.com. Last updated: February 10, 2020.

Some sneakers are grails because of how rare they are. Others because they’re a unique collaboration, but the most important grails become significant because of who was wearing them.

The AJ 12 saw the GOAT through his fifth NBA Title against the Karl Malone’s Utah Jazz, and what’s more it got him through the infamous “Flu Game.” Whether MJ actually had the flu or food poisoning, will always up to speculation, but it was a game that went down in history.

The Bulls and Jazz were tied 2-2, and Jordan was sick as a dog. He spent the whole day before the game resting in bed instead of practicing for Game 5 of the Finals. When it came to game time, the trainers told Jordan to sit out, but he ignored them. MJ took to the court, and dropped 38 points, including draining a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left. The Bulls won 90-88, and they would go on to win Game 6, winning the title for the Bulls.

The “Flu Game” AJ 12 was highly sought after following the game, and the silhouette itself is a must have for sneakerheads. Like many of the killer Jordan silhouettes, this one was designed by Tinker Hatfield with heavy input from Mike himself.

Hatfield found inspiration for Michael Jordan’s signature sneaker all over the world, and the Air Jordan 12 was no different. Jordan himself was a fan of fashion, including women’s fashion. A women’s boot from the 19^th century inspired the first concepts for the AJ 12, but more global influences would stand out on the sneaker.

The Japanese Rising Sun flag has a white background and red sun with light radiating from the sun, and the sunbeam pattern inspired Hatfield. The “rays” are stitched down the sides of the silhouette invoking images of the historic flag.

His Airness’ ideas were always taken into account when it came to a new design, and each new sneaker showed his number “23” somewhere on the design. This time MJ had an idea. He wanted to have the number written down the tongue, but he wanted it written like this: Two 3.

As always Jordan wanted the best-performing kicks he could get, so the Air Jordan 12 was the first Jordan silhouette to sport a Zoom Air unit, the carbon fiber midfoot plate was carried over from the AJ 11, and the sneaker donned a modified herringbone pattern for improved traction on the hardwood. The tech in this shoe was so good some of MJ’s teammates wore them on court, including Scottie Pippen. Pippen loved the feel and comfort of the AJ 12 so much that he had the Zoom Air units added to his first signature sneaker.

It’s the 20^th anniversary of the Air Jordan 12, and to celebrate the Jordan Brand is releasing a new colorway, “The Master.” The latest AJ 12 is a salute to the iconic “The Master” poster. Constructed with a premium, black leather base, the sneaker sports gold detailing on the upper lace eyelets, and white accents on the Jordan branding.