Air Jordan 11 Retro 'Concord'

A shoe for a player who wasn't playing

Tinker Hatfield designed the Air Jordan 11 while Michael Jordan was away playing baseball, hoping Jordan would wear it when he came back to the NBA. It paired a ballistic mesh upper with a carbon fiber spring plate and, most famously, a patent leather mudguard, chosen because it was light and resisted stretching.

Nike's Ken Black described the layering, from 'patent leather to soft leather to softer textured nylon to softer neoprene-like, at the back of the heel.' Hatfield's own verdict: 'The 11 is probably the most remarkable shoe,' adding that 'Michael liked it way too much.'

The white-and-black colorway took its name, 'Concord,' from the subtle purple on the sole. It is widely described as Jordan's favorite Air Jordan.

Two games in Orlando

Jordan had come back from baseball in 1995 wearing number 45. That May, in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Orlando Magic, he wore the unreleased 11. Hatfield had advised against it because the shoe was not ready for the market, but, as one history puts it, 'Michael was in love with it so much that he laced 'em up anyway.' His sample carried a '45' on the heel.

Game 1, on May 7, 1995, at Orlando Arena, went badly. Jordan scored 19 on 8-of-22 shooting with 8 turnovers, and the Magic won 94-91. For Game 2 on May 10, he switched back to number 23 and scored 38 on 17-of-30 shooting, with 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 blocks, in a 104-94 win.

The Concords lasted those two games. Jordan was fined because his shoes did not match his teammates'; one reference work puts the fine at $5,000 for breaking the Bulls' colorway policy. Later in those playoffs he wore a black version of the 11, the pair that would become the 'Space Jam.'

72-10

The Concord reached stores in November 1995 at $125, with '23' on the heel. It was the only colorway Jordan wore through the entire 1995-96 regular season, in which the Bulls went 72-10 and won the championship and Jordan averaged 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

Among the season's big nights in the shoe: 42 points against Charlotte on November 3, 1995; 48 points and 10 rebounds against Philadelphia on January 13, 1996; and 53 points, 11 rebounds and 6 steals against Detroit on March 7, 1996.

Every retro a riot

The first retro came in October 2000 at $125. A Defining Moments two-pair set with golden accents followed in January 2006. The December 2011 retro has been called 'perhaps the most chaotic Air Jordan release in history,' with campouts and mayhem around the world. A low-top version reached retail for the first time in May 2014.

The 2018 release finally gave collectors the '45' sample. Announced as Jordan Brand's annual holiday release and promoted with a video featuring Carmelo Anthony, Tinker Hatfield, DJ Khaled and Justin Timberlake, it dropped on December 8, 2018, at $220, the first time the remastered '45' version had been sold. Production was rumored at more than 1 million pairs, though no official figure was given.

How to identify the 2018 pair

Look for style code 378037-100 and the colorway White/Black-Dark Concord. The upper is stark white with a black patent leather mudguard, cut higher than on earlier retros, over a white midsole, with Concord purple on the sole.

The giveaway is the heel: the 2018 pair carries '45' where the 1995 retail pair carried '23.' It came in a grey package with a black box lid.

The numbers

Release date

December 8, 2018

Retail price

$220

Style code

378037-100

Production

Rumored at more than 1 million pairs; not officially stated

1995 ECSF Game 1 (May 7, Orlando Arena)

Magic 94, Bulls 91. Jordan: 40:00 min, 8-22 FG, 0-2 3P, 3-5 FT, 19 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 8 TOV

1995 ECSF Game 2 (May 10, Orlando Arena)

Bulls 104, Magic 94. Jordan: 43:00 min, 17-30 FG, 1-1 3P, 3-8 FT, 38 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 4 STL, 4 BLK

1995-96 season

Bulls 72-10; Jordan 30.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.3 APG

Timeline

1. 1993

   A prototype of the 11 is tested late in the year, by one account.

2. May 7, 1995

   Jordan debuts the unreleased Concord 11 with a '45' heel in Game 1 at Orlando; the Magic win 94-91.

3. May 10, 1995

   Back in number 23, Jordan scores 38 in Game 2, the last of his two games in the shoe that series.

4. Nov 1995

   The Concord 11 goes on sale at $125.

5. 1996

   The Bulls finish 72-10, Jordan in Concords all regular season.

6. Oct 2000

   First Concord retro, at $125.

7. Jan 2006

   Defining Moments two-pair set.

8. Dec 2011

   Concord retro sparks campouts and chaos worldwide.

9. May 2014

   First retail Concord 11 Low.

10. Dec 8, 2018

    The Concord 11 '45,' 378037-100, releases at $220.

The world in 2018

• Jan 13, 2018

  A false ballistic missile alert causes panic in Hawaii.

• Feb 4, 2018

  The Philadelphia Eagles beat New England 41-33 in Super Bowl LII.

• Feb 16, 2018

  Black Panther opens.

• Jun 8, 2018

  Golden State sweeps Cleveland for the NBA title.

• Jun 12, 2018

  President Trump meets Kim Jong-un in Singapore.

• Jun 27, 2018

  Justice Anthony Kennedy announces his retirement.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Air Jordan 11 Retro 'Concord' is number 69 of 100 in the sneakers entries of the FLOAT 100. 22 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (80 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Jordan's first game in the Concord 11 was a loss in which he committed 8 turnovers.
• The '45' on the 2018 heel is the number Jordan wore when he came back from baseball in 1995.
• The Concord was the only Air Jordan 11 colorway Jordan wore in the 1995-96 regular season.
• The first retro in 2000 cost the same $125 as the 1995 original.
• The name comes from the faint purple on the sole, not from anything on the upper.