The Air Jordan 3 is an integral part of the Air Jordan lineage, as it was the first model in the series designed by the legendary Tinker Hatfield. It is often credited as the sneaker that saved the Air Jordan line. Michael Jordan wasn’t happy with the direction of his signature sneaker line after the Air Jordan 2, and he contemplated jumping ship to another brand, but he fell in love with the design of the AJ 3, and the rest is history. Over its nearly 40 years on the market, it’s been given plenty of iconic makeovers, with the Seoul colorway honoring South Korea making a return in 2025.
In 2018, Tinker Hatfield and Dan Sunwoo came together to create the Air Jordan 3 Seoul, a special colorway that celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1988 Summer Olympics, which took place in Seoul, South Korea. During these Olympic Games, MJ could not play as FIBA had a rule that no professional athletes could participate at the time. This eventually led to the creation of the 1992 Olympic Dream Team and its stacked, legendary roster when the rule was changed in 1989.
