Zack Schlemmer 
Sports car inspiration, high-end performance, and a look that’s loved by almost all Air Jordan fans. Even all these years later, the Air Jordan XIV is still known as one of the Air Jordans with the best balance of performance and appealing design. Also quite notable for historic reasons, the shoe marked the end of one of the most important eras in the game of basketball: Michael Jordan’s tenure with the Chicago Bulls. From its Ferrari-inspired design to the Last Shot, this latest edition of Jordan 101 details everything you need to know about the sleek and sporty Air Jordan XIV.
The Basics
The Air Jordan XIV originally released in eight iterations, including five original mid-top colorways and three lows. First released in late 1998 in the “Black Toe” colorway, all seven other versions released throughout 1999. The XIV actually made its world debut much earlier, with Michael Jordan wearing them the 1998 NBA Finals in the ‘Black/Varsity Red’ colorway. (More on that later.) All eight colorways are as follows: Bulls-friendly mid-tops in ‘White/Black/Varsity Red’, ‘Black/Varsity Red’, and ‘White/Black/Varsity Red’; Two more mids in ‘White/Black/Oxidized Green’ and ‘Black/White/Indigo’; and the three low-tops in ‘Light Ginger’, ‘White/Columbia Blue’, and the ‘Varsity Royal’ or “Laney” colorway which just returned for the first time ever last weekend, October 3, 2015.
Ribbed or Smooth?
It wasn’t just the colorways and heights that varied with each edition of the XIV, but the construction, as well. The ‘Black/Varsity Red’ and ‘White/Varsity Red’ colorways (as well as the “Columbia Blue” Low) featured its leather quarter panels with a stitched and perforated treatment, which formed a ribbed texture across the upper. Meanwhile the other colorways all came with smooth full-grain leather paneling. This marked the first time that the Air Jordan was constructed in varying ways for different colorways.
Luxury Sports Car Inspiration
Another classic design by Tinker Hatfield, the Air Jordan XIV was inspired by the high performance of Michael’s favorite luxury sports car brand, Ferrari. The signature fast and bold look of the famous Italian sports cars are translated into the sneaker in various ways, including the sleek and low-to-the-ground silhouette, the Ferrari-shaped Jumpman jewel logo, the tire-tread rubber panel on the heel, the “spoiler” tongue, and the ventilated medial “exhaust” hole. Perhaps the most specific and obvious translation of its design inspiration of the entire Air Jordan line, the XIV does truly look like a sports car on your foot.
Tech
Regarded as one of the most comfortable Air Jordans ever, the XIV is packed with technology within its speedy frame. Down low, you get Zoom Air units in both the heel and forefoot, along with a Phylon foam midsole and grippy herringbone pattern on the outsole to keep you ideally cushioned and stable on the court. Mentioned earlier, the midsole also features a unique “exhaust” system characterized by a ventilation hole on each shoe’s medial midsole to allow air in and out to help cool your foot. The XIV also featured a supportive midfoot shank, which was constructed in TPU for every version except the ‘White/Varsity Red’ colorway that came with a carbon fiber shank plate.
#14
Referencing its place in the Air Jordan line, each shoe featured seven Jumpman logos, adding up to a total of fourteen. The XIV was also the first Air Jordan model to specifically call out its own number right on the shoe, with “XIV” found on both the tongue and outsole.
Air Jordans Back On the Baseball Diamond
The first Air Jordan model turned into a baseball cleat since Nike made special pairs for Michael during his baseball stint, the Air Jordan XIV brought the brand back to the diamond with Team Jordan member Derek Jeter wearing a PE cleat edition of the shoe in 1999. Now a common sight on the field, Jeter helped lead the way for cleat-ified Air Jordans.
The Last Shot
Like all great early Air Jordans, the XIV connects to a legendary moment in Michael Jordan’s career. This time it was, of course, the “Last Shot”. The final shot Air Jordan would take in a Chicago Bulls uniform just happened to be one of the greatest, as his late-game heroics of first stealing the ball and then walking down the floor to hit a game-winning shot to seal up the 1998 NBA Finals victory, the Bulls’ second three-peat, and his sixth ring almost poetically completed his incredible career. On MJ’s feet for that storied 45 point Game 6 performance were the black and red XIV’s, now appropriately nicknamed the Last Shot colorway, which he broke out well ahead of the shoe’s release in 1999. Michael would eventually come back a few years later with the Washington Wizards, but the Air Jordan XIV and the Last Shot completed the end of an era.
The Perfect Air Jordan?
The Air Jordan XIV seems to have it all: A celebrated design; great on-court performance; and the fact that it was worn during one of the most fabled moments of Michael Jordan’s career. Does this make it the greatest Air Jordan model? Everyone’s opinions vary, so it’s impossible to say that it’s the best looking or performing Air Jordan ever, but it certainly does seem to hit that sweet spot of sneaker design that strikes a perfect balance of aesthetics and comfort, making it, if nothing else, the most versatile Air Jordan of them all.
