Sneaker News 
20 years ago to the day, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls defeated the Phoenix Suns by a one-point margin in the 1993 NBA Finals. The threepeat was complete (the first one at least) and Michael Jordan got them there with an incredible 41 points-per-game average across the Series. While the Bulls were more or less the consensus best team in the league at the time, there were some doubts surrounding the possibility of a third championship in such a short span thanks to the strength of their Finals opponent the Phoenix Suns (Charles Barkley on their side). The Championship win would eventually become a bittersweet one, as His Airness’ first retirement from the game following the death of his father looming over the franchise. Of course, on feet for Michael Jordan during that 1993 post-season was the Air Jordan VIII “Playoffs” – a celebrated Air Jordan original that hits stores for the third time in history.
Although the original run of the Air Jordan VIII featured the “Bugs” and “Aqua”, the colorway you see in front of you is the one remembered the most – the classic Bulls color-up that MJ wore as the Chicago squad got ready for another historic NBA title win. Since then the Air Jordan VIII “Playoffs” has been unearthed on one other occasion, showing up at retailers back in December of 2007 amidst a large AJ8 re-issue. But even in 2013, which features a stacked variety of enticing Air Jordan releases, the Playoff 8 has firmly stood in the front lines among the most coveted sneaker releases of the year. We’re excited to unveil the Air Jordan VIII “Playoffs” as the next installment in Sneaker News “Beauty Shots”, so continue on for a gallery of this historic shoe made all the more relevant by today’s 20th anniversary of the title Michael earned in them, and keep it locked on Sneaker News for continued, exclusive previews of Jordan Brand’s prized releases for 2013.
The Air Jordan VIII “Playoffs” releases on June 29th with a retail price of $160.
