Air Jordan 3 Retro OG 'Black Cement'

The shoe that saved the deal

In the summer of 1987, Nike's partnership with Michael Jordan was in trouble. Peter Moore, the creative director and lead designer behind the first Air Jordan, resigned, and so did Rob Strasser, the Nike vice president who had signed Jordan to his first endorsement deal. The two were starting a new venture, and Jordan was weighing offers from it and from Adidas.

The assignment to design the Air Jordan III fell to Tinker Hatfield, then 35, with only weeks before the presentation. Hatfield's response broke from the first two Jordans. He cut the shoe down to a mid-top, trimmed it in nubuck printed with an elephant-skin pattern, used tumbled leather, showed the Nike Air unit through a window in the sole, and put a new logo on the tongue: the Jumpman, a silhouette of Jordan in flight.

Hatfield has recalled that Jordan grabbed the shoe from him and within five minutes was smiling and asking questions. Jordan stayed with Nike, and the Air Jordan III reached stores in February 1988 at $100.

Forty points at home

Black Cement was one of the Air Jordan 3's four original 1988 colorways, along with White Cement, Fire Red and True Blue. It pairs black tumbled leather with Cement Grey elephant print on the toe and heel.

Jordan wore the Black Cements on court in the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, played February 7, 1988, at Chicago Stadium, his home floor. In 29 minutes he made 17 of 23 shots and all six of his free throws for 40 points, with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocks. The East won 138-133 before 18,403 fans, and Jordan was named the game's MVP.

It capped a season unlike any before it. In 1987-88 Jordan averaged 35.0 points across 82 games and won both the league MVP award and Defensive Player of the Year. Spike Lee's Mars Blackmon ads, with the line 'It's gotta be the shoes!', made the Air Jordan 3 a pop-culture object as well as a basketball shoe.

Thirty years of retros

Black Cement returned first in 1994, a retro that sat on shelves. The 2001 retro sold well, and the shoe came back again in a 2008 countdown pack bundled with the Air Jordan 20, in 2011, and in a 2019 special edition with Nike Swooshes on the sides.

The heel tab is the detail collectors track. The 2011 retro swapped the original 'Nike Air' for a Jumpman, and was criticized for its leather quality. When Jordan Brand released the 2018 pair for the model's 30th anniversary, it restored the 'Nike Air' heel, making it the first Black Cement 3 retroed with its original branding since 2001.

The 2018 pair released February 17, 2018, during All-Star Weekend and on Jordan's 55th birthday, at $200 for men's sizes. Grade-school sizes cost $160, preschool $80 and toddler $60.

How to identify the 2018 pair

Look for style code 854262-001 and the colorway Black/Cement Grey/White-Fire Red. The upper is black leather with a deep grey elephant print at the toe and heel, Fire Red tongue lining, and 'Nike Air' on the heel and outsole.

The 2018 pair has a pebbled leather finish and darker grey tones. A 2024 retro released November 23, 2024, changed the shape to match the 1988 original more closely, lightened the grey, cut the elephant print shorter and switched to smoother leather. Side by side, the darker print and pebbled leather mark the 2018 version.

Why it lasts

The Air Jordan 3 introduced the Jumpman logo and elephant print, both still central to the brand, and it began Hatfield's run designing the Jordans that followed. Without it, there may not have been a Jordan line to collect.

Black Cement is the colorway tied to Jordan's 40-point MVP night at the 1988 All-Star Game, and the 2018 retro is the first modern version to carry the heel branding he wore that night.

The numbers

Release date

February 17, 2018

Retail price

$200 men's; $160 grade school; $80 preschool; $60 toddler

Style code

854262-001

1988 All-Star Game

February 7, 1988, Chicago Stadium; East 138, West 133; attendance 18,403

Jordan box score

29:00 min, 17-23 FG, 6-6 FT, 40 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 4 STL, 4 BLK; game MVP

1987-88 season

82 games, 35.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.9 APG, 3.2 SPG; league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year

Production

No production figures have been published

Timeline

1. 1987

   Peter Moore and Rob Strasser leave Nike; Tinker Hatfield takes over the Air Jordan III design.

2. Feb 1988

   The Air Jordan III goes on sale at $100.

3. Feb 7, 1988

   Jordan wears Black Cement in the All-Star Game at Chicago Stadium, scoring 40 and winning MVP.

4. 1994

   First Black Cement retro.

5. 2001

   Black Cement returns with 'Nike Air' on the heel.

6. 2008

   Black Cement is released in a countdown pack with the Air Jordan 20.

7. 2011

   Black Cement retro with a Jumpman on the heel instead of 'Nike Air.'

8. Feb 17, 2018

   The 30th-anniversary Black Cement, 854262-001, releases at $200 on Jordan's 55th birthday.

9. 2019

   A Black Cement special edition adds Nike Swooshes to the sides.

10. Nov 23, 2024

    A new retro arrives, reshaped to match the 1988 original more closely.

The world in 1988

• Jan 25, 1988

  Ronald Reagan delivers his final State of the Union address.

• Feb 12, 1988

  Anthony Kennedy is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Apr 11, 1988

  The Last Emperor wins all nine of its Academy Award nominations.

• Jun 1, 1988

  The U.S.-Soviet Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty takes effect.

• Aug 9, 1988

  Wrigley Field hosts its first night baseball game.

• Nov 8, 1988

  George H. W. Bush is elected president over Michael Dukakis.

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 3 Retro OG 'Black Cement' is number 79 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 (73 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• The Air Jordan III was the first Jordan with the Jumpman logo and the first with elephant print.
• Tinker Hatfield got the Air Jordan III assignment with only weeks to go, after Nike's lead Jordan designer resigned.
• The first Black Cement retro, in 1994, sat on store shelves.
• Jordan shot 17 of 23 in the 1988 All-Star Game while wearing Black Cements in his home arena.
• The 2011 Black Cement retro used a Jumpman on the heel, which is why the 2018 'Nike Air' version mattered to collectors.