Renaissance
Earlier this year Ben Affleck and Matt Damon brought us “Air,” the story of how Nike secured an endorsement deal with Michael Jordan and birthed a legend. Upon watching the movie, some were surprised to learn that prior to Michael Jordan Nike was struggling in the basketball marketplace. In fact, Nike’s basketball division was so poorly performing that it was at risk of being dissolved. Today this seems preposterous as Nike now dominates the basketball shoe landscape. Data from Basketball Insiders shows that 67.2% of the NBA wears Nike. Nikes and Jordans combine for nearly 75% of the NBA. Life at Nike Basketball has certainly changed over the past forty years. The rich history of product, innovation, and endorsement figures has led to the immense success Nike has experienced. Each layer built off of the layer before it, creating the monster that is Nike Basketball. Quite the turnaround from being on the verge of collapse. With NBA training camp underway and teams across all levels of basketball throughout the country beginning to gear up for the season, there is no better time to look at just how Nike managed to pick up momentum, gain traction, and change the narrative in the marketplace.
Michael Jordan changed the game. That’s it, that’s the article. While jesting, as the history is of course far more nuanced, however, if short for time, that would suffice. The Air Jordan product line offered a disruptive stylistic design that the marketplace had not previously experienced. The shoes were so disruptive that the NBA banned them for violating dress codes. Complex published a brilliant article detailing the history of the banned shoes. The shoes armed with the creative marketing strategy of Nike took on a life of their own and broke beyond mere functionality. Nike breathed new life into the market with the idea that the shoe would change from year to year. Every year a new Jordan model was unveiled and each model was quite different from the previous year’s model. Up until that point, the sneakers available did not change in this manner. The excitement generated by the new Jordan model each year only further increased Nike’s command over the competition. The Jordan deal also opened doors for more athletes to hold a seat at the table and secure a piece of the pie. As the 1980s ended and the 1990s began it became commonplace for basketball players to wear specific shoes. With the turn of the decade also came advancements in sneaker technology. Nike developed and fine-tuned new comfort and support systems within the shoes, rubber compounds softened and a new foam midsole was being used. As basketball shoes become more functional they also become more fashionable. The blending of form and function contributed to more consumers being excited to wear the shoes and shoes began to be articles of fashion not just for athletic performance. This combined with Nike’s increased partnership with players to market the shoes only grew and grew in popularity.
The 1990s is arguably the golden era of Nike basketball and the sheer amount of different designs Nike had to offer throughout this period has yet to be matched. The Jordan line is a given. It was the ultimate revenue-producing line for Nike. However, countless other models were and remain equally popular. The 90s gave birth to iconic designs such as the Foamposite, and Air Bakin, famously worn by Penny Hardaway. Scottie Pippin most notably wore the Air Uptempo. Charles Barkley could be found in the Air Max 2 CB. Dennis Rodman played in the Air Shake N’destrukt. Jason Kidd got in on the action with the Nike Zoom Flight 95. Gary Payton rocked the Zoom Flight 98 (affectionately nicknamed after him “the glove.”) Nike’s masterful combination of new unique designs, advanced tech in the shoes, and partnership with some of the NBA’s most dazzling stars turned the product into culture. This is the epitome of Nike’s success. Innovative products sported by cultural icons caused the product to eclipse its intended purpose. In an interview with Harvard Business Review in 1992 Nike CEO Phil Knight revealed that 60% of their product was being purchased by people who didn’t use it for the actual sport it was designed for. Nike embraced this reality and allowed room for the sneakers to take on a life and culture of their own. The openness to varying consumer uses can be attributed to the explosion of Nike’s presence in the market and in the streets.
The basketball shoes of the 1990s expertly intertwined new designs with timelessness. The sneakers of the 1990s did not fall victim to trends, unlike the sneakers of the early 2000s which explicitly ascribed the the styles of the time. The 1990s offered a much more laid-back and classic sense of style compared to the early 2000s which obsessed over futuristic Y2K looks. Because of this, while the early 2000s shoes were the moment during that time they lacked the staying power of the 1990s models. Even today collectors keep many of the 1990s models in rotation and Nike routinely rereleases these sneakers. With Michael Jordan as its springboard, Nike launched into the top spot in the basketball market. With fascinating designs, exciting partnerships, and shrewd marketing, the shoes transcended the court and became cultural icons. Throughout the 1990s Nike reshaped what functional athletic shoes could be. By employing product innovation and simultaneously leaning into consumers’ responses to the product, Nike unlocked new opportunities beyond what was previously imagined for a pair of basketball shoes. It is these themes that lead collectors to frequently hold that this was the golden era of Nike basketball. This can be debated, but what is not debatable is that the Nike basketball shoes of the 1990s brought renaissance to both the brand and the market.
