FLOAT 100 · Sneakers · No. 88
Air Jordan 2 Retro OG 'Chicago'
The second Air Jordan was built in an Italian factory, priced at an unheard-of $100 and stripped of its Swoosh, and in December 2022 its white, red and black original came back in the box it first shipped in.
- Year
- 2022
- Maker
- Nike / Jordan Brand
- By price in sneakers
- 95 of 100
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- Air Jordan 2 Retro OG 'Chicago,' White/Varsity Red-Black, style DX2454-106
- Released
- December 30, 2022, at $200
- Original
- October 1986, made in Italy, $100 retail
- Designers
- Peter Moore and Bruce Kilgore
- First of its kind
- The first Air Jordan without a Nike Swoosh on the upper
- Packaging
- The original 'Wings' box returned for the first time since 1986
- Earlier Chicago releases
- Mid-1990s, 2004, 2010, 2016 (low)
- On court
- Jordan wore the AJ2 when he won the 1987 Slam Dunk Contest
A sequel made in Italy
The Air Jordan 2 had a hard act to follow and a short runway. Michael Jordan broke his foot 18 games into the 1985-86 season, which put pressure on Nike to deliver the second shoe. Peter Moore and Bruce Kilgore designed it, and Mark Parker worked on sketches with Kilgore and an Italian craftsman, Claudio Innocente.
The shoe was built in Italy, at a contract factory called Sport Time owned by Giorgio Franco. Kilgore said Italy was the answer to a technical problem: it was the only place at the time that could deliver the cushioning while bringing the height of the shoe down. The AJ2 had a full-length Air-Sole unit, a polyurethane midsole and a rubber outsole, which Kilgore described as unusual when most shoes had polyurethane bottoms.
It looked like nothing else on a basketball court. There was no Swoosh on the upper, a first for an Air Jordan, and the sides used a faux lizard texture alongside premium leather. It released in October 1986 at $100, $35 more than the Air Jordan 1, a price considered outlandish for a basketball shoe.
The people behind it
Peter Moore left Nike in 1986, around the time the AJ2 reached stores, and a former colleague later said the departures opened room for Tinker Hatfield and the product team, who would design the Air Jordan 3.
Bruce Kilgore's fingerprints on the AJ2 are in the engineering: the rubber outsole and the low-profile cushioning that sent production to Italy.
Nike also controlled where the shoe went. A Nike veteran recalled that the AJ2 'was not available to the masses' in terms of retail distribution, which, with the price, made it feel more like a fashion item than the AJ1 had.
Jordan's 37-point season
Jordan came back from his broken foot to have one of the great scoring seasons in NBA history in the season the AJ2 reached stores. In 1986-87 he played all 82 games, averaged 37.1 points and scored 3,041 in total, with 2.9 steals and 1.5 blocks a game.
At All-Star weekend in Seattle in February 1987, Jordan won the Slam Dunk Contest, beating Jerome Kersey of Portland 146 to 140 in the final. The Chicago colorway he wore that weekend is the one this retro recreates.
It was the year of the Challenger disaster, Top Gun and the first federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the AJ2 was a bet that a basketball shoe could be sold like an Italian luxury good.
The 2022 retro
Jordan Brand brought the Chicago colorway back on December 30, 2022, at $200, as style DX2454-106. Sneaker press tied the timing to growing interest in the model, helped by Virgil Abloh's collaborations on it.
Unlike the 2004 retro, which added black piping, the 2022 pair returned to clean white leather panels with small perforations and the reptile-textured side panels, black on the laces, liner and midsole, and red on the tongue's Wings insignia, the molded heel counter and the outsole. It came in a replica of the original Wings box with a Wings hangtag and booklet, the first time the original packaging had returned since 1986.
It was a broad release, in men's, women's and kids' sizes, through Nike's own app and many sneaker shops, with some using raffles. In October 2026 the lowest listing at one U.S. sneaker shop was $157, below the $200 retail price.
How to identify it
Look for style code DX2454-106 on the size tag and the White/Varsity Red-Black colorway. The 2022 pair has no black piping around the white panels, which separates it from the 2004 retro. The Wings logo on the tongue is red, and Nike and Jumpman branding sits on the heel and tongue.
Earlier Chicago pairs came out in the mid-1990s (high and low), 2004, 2010 (a 'QF' release) and 2016 (a low). The 1986 originals, made in Italy, are the ones collectors prize most. The sources consulted for this page do not state where the 2022 retro was manufactured; check the tag of any pair.
The numbers
- Release date
- December 30, 2022
- Retail price
- $200 (the 1986 original was $100)
- Style code
- DX2454-106
- Colorway
- White/Varsity Red-Black
- Production numbers
- Not published; a wide release in men's, women's and kids' sizes
- Jordan, 1986-87 season
- 82 G, 40.0 MPG, .482 FG%, 37.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.6 APG, 2.9 SPG, 1.5 BPG; 3,041 points
- Jordan, 1985-86 season
- 18 G (broken foot), 22.7 PPG
- 1987 Slam Dunk Contest
- Won in Seattle, 146 to Jerome Kersey's 140 in the final
Timeline
Jordan breaks his foot 18 games into the 1985-86 season.
Peter Moore leaves Nike.
The Air Jordan 2 releases, made in Italy, at $100.
Jordan wins the Slam Dunk Contest in Seattle.
First Chicago retro, in high and low versions.
Chicago retro, with black piping added.
Chicago retro released as a 'QF' pair.
Chicago low-top release.
The Air Jordan 2 Retro OG 'Chicago' releases at $200 in the original Wings box.
The world in 1986
The first federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed.
The Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart 73 seconds after launch.
Top Gun opens and becomes the year's top-grossing film.
About 6.5 million people join Hands Across America.
The Statue of Liberty reopens after restoration.
The New York Mets win the World Series in seven games.
Mike Tyson, 20, becomes the youngest heavyweight champion.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2026 | $157 | Asking price, not a saleLowest listing for the 2022 pair at a U.S. sneaker shop; prices vary by size. |
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 2 Retro OG 'Chicago' is number 95 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 (88 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- The Air Jordan 2 was the first Air Jordan with no Swoosh on the upper.
- At $100 in 1986, it cost $35 more than the Air Jordan 1.
- It was made in Italy because, its designer said, only Italian factories could combine the cushioning with a lower profile.
- Jordan played only 18 games in 1985-86, then averaged 37.1 points the season the AJ2 came out.
- The 2022 retro was the first time the original Wings box came back since 1986.
- Its rubber outsole was unusual at a time when, its designer said, most shoes had polyurethane bottoms.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 3, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026