Brendan Dunne 
There’s no hiding the fact that the Air Jordan IX occupies a difficult spot in the legacy series line up. The sneaker itself was sandwiched by a load of much more sentimental models, book-ended by three championships on one side and another three on the other (with the comeback special the Air Jordan X thrown in there for good measure). As their original release came during MJ’s first self imposed exile from the game the man himself never laced up in the Air Jordan IX, that is unless you count on the baseball diamond in that black and white cleat version for the Birmingham Barons or many years later in the retro ‘Cool Grey’ colorway for the Wizards. With the sneaker threatening to end up a bit short in terms of historical significance Jordan Brand was forced to stir the pot a little. They aimed for a story that celebrated the worldwide impact of Michael’s game, they crafted a mysterious character in the form of the Johnny Kilroy ad campaign, heck they even dished out a PE colorway to one Penny Hardaway in an era long before the company made it policy to outfit athletes with specialized pairs. So when the time did eventually come for the Air Jordan IX to get in on the retro action in 2002 it was almost a given that the folks out in Beaverton would fiddle with the equation once again.
The result? The Air Jordan IX Low, an abridged version of the sneaker that came first in a snow white colorway (pictured after the jump) and later in the much more attention grabbing pearl blue shown above. The sneaker stands as one of those truly unique combos amongst its peers, with no other Air Jordan release since ever bearing the same nearly navy tone, paired so simply here with white for the outsole and upper area that stretches beyond the extended leather wrap around. Outside of that idiosyncratic choice of color the pair did actually include something more traditional around the perimeter, with what appears to be a columbia/university blue touching on the various Jumpman logos that gets left out of the official color designation. Check with us after the jump for all the angles on this boiled down classic the Air Jordan IX Low ‘Pearl Blue’ from 2002, as well as its bleached brethren, and check back at the same time tomorrow as we continue to get low this week in Classics Revisited.
Air Jordan IX Low
White/Pearl Blue
303895-142
9/2002
Air Jordan IX Low
White/White-Chrome
303895-111
7/2002
Photos: Kixclusive
