Patrick Johnson 
The Air Jordan 4 is one of the more iconic Jordan silhouettes in his retro archive for the sleek design, iconic midsole, and breathable mesh cage throughout. The ‘Flight’ branding on the tongue in a minor detail, but serves as a little piece of history that shows how the Air Jordan line could’ve gone in an entirely different direction. Did you know that MJ was supposed to take over Nike Basketball’s ‘Flight’ line? It got as far as making its way to the Air Jordan 4’s tongue, but Tinker and co. decided it was better to continue the Air Jordan line in a move that paid off and then some. Mike’s rival and a man that was billed to be a Jordan counterpart, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Ron Harper, was instead given the reigns as the face of the Flight franchise for a good portion of the early 90s wearing models like the Nike Air Flight 89. We all know how that turned out, as some lackluster campaigns stuck with the Clippers eventually had Harper serve as an understudy to Jordan during the Bulls’ second three-peat. This upcoming Flight 89 serves as a nice counterpart to the Air Jordan 4 “Alternate” given the clean white base, red piping, and sparse hits of black throughout. What do you think? Check out what could’ve been an MJ signature shoe below and let us know if you’re a fan of the look by taking your thoughts to the comments section.
Updated September 14th, 2019: The Nike Air Flight ’89 “Ron Harper” is returning in Fall 2019.
Nike Air Flight 89 “Ron Harper”
Color: White/University Red-Black
Style Code: 819665-100
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