Michigan and Jordan Brand Return to Form with National Championship Win

For the first time since the days of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and The Fab Five Glen Rice, Rumeal Robinson, Loy Vaught, and Terry Mills, the University of Michigan’s men’s basketball team are national champions. The Wolverines defeated a tough UConn squad that had won two of the past four national championships. And it easily could have been a third had it not been for the resiliency of the Maize and Blue, overcoming a tough shooting night with hard-nosed defense.

With second-year coach Dusty May pulling off the basketball equivalent of what Indiana’s Curt Cignetti achieved in college football, there are going to be plenty of questions about what is next for a team that will likely look very different next year, thanks to some departing seniors and the chaotic nature of the transfer portal.

In a way, Michigan and UCLA fans should be sharing similar feelings of relief at the moment as both schools had to endure decades-long droughts before finally breaking through over the past 72 hours. Maybe everybody should ease off the kids for a second and savor the reality of being national champions and let the coaches worry about what’s next for at least the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Jordan Brand is not letting off the gas as they achieved a pair of firsts over the past few days. Between Michigan and UCLA’s wins this year, coupled with Florida’s victory last year, this is the first time Jordan Brand has won back-to-back men’s national championships and the first time they have swept both the men’s and women’s final.

After a ground-breaking partnership with Nike throughout the ‘90s and most of the 2000s, Michigan would switch to adidas for several years before returning to Nike and Jordan Brand in 2015. Since then, sneakerheads eagerly await the start of every new football and basketball season as they receive the player exclusives that the athletes will never wear on the field or on the court. While the retros never get played, we have seen the Wolverines wear the latest Air Jordan and signature models from Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic. Here’s a look back at some of the best Jordan sneakers worn by the team all season.

10. Air Jordan 3 Black Cat and Air Jordan 11 Gamma Blue

For their SLAM Magazine cover shoot, Elliot Cadeau and Yaxel Lendeborg brought back the feelings of the Fab Five with their black socks homage to go along with their (almost) murdered-out Jordan retros. If they really wanted to complete the Fab Five homage, the shorts could have been baggier, and the sneakers could have been the Huaraches and Forces, but Jordan Brand would have gotten in the way of the latter happening.

9. Jordan Tatum 4 Sonic Yellow

Jayson Tatum’s newest signature shoe is arguably his best yet, and it has been the footwear of choice of freshman guard Trey McKinney. Despite being a first-year player, McKinney displayed a unique level of confidence when he said in a 2025 interview prior to stepping foot in Michigan that he could see himself winning a national championship immediately. Flash forward to April and McKinney is hitting a dagger three while rocking the Tatum 4 in the Sonic Yellow colorway. While it’s not a player exclusive, the image of the sneaker is going to live on McKinney’s feet while hitting the clutch basket.

8. Jordan Tatum 3 PE

With a whopping size 18 feet, options for Aday Mara aren’t exactly allowing him to rock a variety of Jordans like his teammates. Throughout the season, Mara wore the Jordan Tatum 3 in the extended sizes and it was on his feet during the Final Four and National Championship games.

7. Nike Sabrina 2 TB White/Black

In this era where it’s almost an outlier to wear basic colorways of signature shoes, here’s sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. in not only a signature shoe from last season and a team bank colorway, but also a Nike shoe. With all of the stories around there of Michael Jordan being very protective of his brand and the athletes who represent it, it would align with our perception of Jordan’s hypercompetitiveness to give someone at Michigan a call if the camera happened to zoom in on Johnson’s Sabrina 2s.

6. Air Jordan 4 PE

Sophomore point guard L.J. Cason was a key contributor to the Wolverines until an ACL injury sidelined him this past February. When asked about his surgery being scheduled for April 9th back in March, Cason noted that it was after the team won the national championship. Bold prediction, but his team backed it up in the biggest way. Cason could be seen celebrating with the team wearing the school’s 2023 Air Jordan 4 player exclusive. Goes slightly against our belief that the retros never touch the court, but it’s good to see they are being worn instead of locked up in a glass case at a third-rate reseller shop in a half-abandoned mall in the middle of nowhere.

5. Nike Ja 2 Swarovski Scratch

Nobody tell Roddy Gayle Jr. that Jordan Brand athletes aren’t supposed to wear Nikes lest they incur the wrath of Michael Jordan himself (Exhibit A: Harrison Barnes). Either that or it’s not as serious as old heads like Carmelo Anthony or Jadakiss would have you believe. Roddy tested that theory out during an early-season game rocking the Scratch version of the Nike Ja 2 with Swarovski crystals. Maybe wearing the less ostentatious pair threw Jordan Brand’s people off the scent or again, it’s not actually that serious.

4. Custom Air Jordan 11

In reality, there are official Air Jordan 11 player exclusives in the classic cut and style. But the pair that Yaxel Lendeborg wore for a game against Michigan State was a custom by the appropriately named CUSTOM WORLD. Now we’re wondering out loud if he has the genuine article but saving it for his collection or he’s waiting for a pair that has yet to arrive.

3. Air Jordan 40 PE

Coming in both home and away colorways, the Air Jordan 40 got plenty of action this season. When he wasn’t wearing retros, Yaxel Lendeborg wore the 40s early in the Wolverines’ regular season campaign. The road colorway in particular has a deep rich navy blue look that is reminiscent of the Air Jordan 12 PSNY in Michigan colors that dropped several years ago. While a retail release is unlikely with the Wolverines branding, most sneakerheads would take the tradeoff just so they can get the sneakers in their hands.

2. Air Jordan 39 PE

Most Outstanding Player Elliot Cadeau stepped up on the biggest stage after an injury to Yaxel Lendeborg during the Final Four limited his minutes and effectiveness the rest of the way. While his teammates wore the Air Jordan 40 throughout the season, Cadeau wore last season’s Air Jordan 39 PEs during the tournament and into the Final Four and National Championship game. Nice to see some continuity and that last year’s models aren’t being forgotten, especially a sneaker with a quiet elegance like the Air Jordan 39.

1. Air Jordan 4028 PE

Time has been kind to the Air Jordan XX8, a sneaker that was equally praised for its performance on the court and derided for its looks. Thanks to a revival of sorts with the hybrid Air Jordan 40 that merges Jordan Brand’s latest with the zip-up shroud design, it has opened up the sneaker to interesting new takes like Rui Hachimura’s killer player exclusive. Michigan got its own 4028 PEs to rock during the tournament, including the pair that Roddy Gayle Jr. wore for the finale.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com