This Sneaker Is Why You Like Orange Jordan 1s
The Air Jordan 1 High OG “Shattered Backboard” is a sneaker filled with lore. And when it returns this summer, it'll mark the 10-year anniversary of its first drop and the 40th anniversary of the AJ1 itself.
The 2025 Shattered Backboard sticks to the script, reviving the original’s premium leather and iconic orange-black-white blocking that made the myth wearable. What myth you ask?
In 1985, during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, a young Michael Jordan took flight in a black-and-orange uniform, threw down a dunk, and shattered the backboard into a million pieces. If Italy and the U.S. weren’t allies, this would've been an act of war.
That moment was a myth in motion. And the orange for today’s sneaker? It came straight from that uniform, turning the story into colorblocking history.
When Nike first dropped the “Shattered Backboard” 1.0 in 2015, it wasn’t tied to a Bulls colorway. It was story-first, paired with premium tumbled leather and iconic blocking.
It established a new tier for materials and proved that narrative-driven Jordans could outsell even OGs.
Since then, we’ve seen a handful of versions, but the SBB remains a grail. And now, six years after the last release, it’s back on August 23, 2025, at Nike and select retailers. But if you miss the drop, expect these to break the bank on the resale market.
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