Aaron Kr. 
So far, the story of the Air Jordan 1 ‘Banned’ has been a strange saga. It was all the way back in August that we got our first look at this special edition of the infamous red/black/white Air Jordan 1, which was originally banned by the NBA in 1985 for violating the league’s dress code. In addition to the X’d out graphics on the heels and the special insoles and box, this pair also featured a return to the original Nike Air logo on the tongue, making it an instant must-have for most Jordan collectors. Sadly, news later emerged that the enticing release looked to have indeed been scrapped, although a few samples leaked out to give us some more looks at the eagerly anticipated drop that would most likely never be.
In an interesting twist of events, a batch of the “Banneds” mysteriously showed up at a Portland Nike Outlet yesterday with a price tag of $109.99, creating quite a stir in the sneaker world and as you can imagine, quickly selling out before the end of the day. It was reported that of the small run that hit the store, some pairs were B-grades, while others featured no indication, but regardless of which you got, it was still one of the most unexpected treasures ever to hit the outlets, so it’s a win either way for whoever was lucky enough to cop. A few pairs from yesterday’s random outlet drop have hit the resale market, so if you’re willing to pay the price, you can snatch up a pair of these rare gems now from *vnds* on eBay.
