FLOAT 100 · Sneakers · No. 78

Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Fire Red'

Michael Jordan first wore the white-and-red Air Jordan 4 in Los Angeles in March 1989 and handed out 16 assists in a one-point win, and it took 31 years for the 'Fire Red' to come back with the 'Nike Air' heel it wore that night.

Year: 2020
Maker: Nike / Jordan Brand
By price in sneakers: 83 of 100

Market asking price, not a sale · Oct 3, 2026$264This is not a sale. It is an asking price, and no transaction is recorded at this figure.

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Shoe: Air Jordan 4 Retro 'Fire Red'
Style code: DC7770-160
Colorway: White, black, Tech Grey and Fire Red; release reports list the colors in different orders
Release date: Black Friday weekend 2020: November 28 by most accounts, November 27 by one
Retail price: $200
Heel branding: 'Nike Air,' the first Fire Red retro to carry it since the 1989 original
Designer: Tinker Hatfield
1989 price: $100, or $108 with tax
On court: Jordan first wore it March 21, 1989, at the Lakers
Sizes: Full family sizing, adult through kids

A more technical Jordan

The Air Jordan 3 had won Michael Jordan over with elephant print and visible Air. For the 4, Tinker Hatfield went another way. 'The IV was like, "Well, can you top that?" So I kind of went away from the exotic and went more technical,' he said later. 'It was meant to be a little more utilitarian.' Exotic textures gave way to synthetic leather and a new mesh, and the shoe came out lighter than the 3.

The 4 launched in four colorways: White/Black, Black/Cement Grey, White/Fire Red-Black and Off White/Military Blue. It was the first Air Jordan sold on the global market. Of the four, one release write-up argued, the 'Fire Red' 'captures the truest spirit of the Chicago Bulls' with its straightforward white, black and red.

In 1989 the shoe cost $100, or $108 with tax, the figure Giancarlo Esposito's character recites in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, which reached theaters that summer.

First night in Inglewood

Jordan debuted the Air Jordan 4 at the All-Star Game in Houston in February 1989, but the Fire Red pair came out a little over a month later. On March 21, 1989, at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, he wore them against the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was a playmaker's night rather than a scorer's. Jordan shot 7 of 20 from the field but went 7 of 8 at the line, grabbed 8 rebounds and handed out 16 assists in 43 minutes. He finished with 21 points, and the Bulls won 104-103 before 17,505 fans.

The Air Jordan 4's most famous moment, 'The Shot' over Craig Ehlo on May 7, 1989, came in the black-and-cement colorway, not the Fire Red. The Fire Red 4 is the everyday Bulls shoe of that season, the one that reads as Chicago.

Lasers, Mars and a long wait

For years the Fire Red came back only in altered form. A 2005 'Laser' version added laser-etched graphics and translucent red lace tabs. A 2006 retro put Mars Blackmon's head on the outer heel and a Jumpman on the heel counter. The 2012 retro dropped Mars but kept the Jumpman, and used a slightly darker red.

The 2020 pair was the third retro of the colorway and the first since 1989 to restore 'Nike Air' on the heel tab. Jordan Brand released it over Black Friday weekend 2020 through its own app and other retailers in the U.S. and Europe, at $200, in sizes from adult to kids. Most release reports give November 28, 2020; one gives November 27.

It arrived in a strange year for basketball: the 2020 NBA season had been suspended in March and finished inside a bubble at Walt Disney World in October. Earlier that spring, The Last Dance had brought Jordan's Bulls back to a housebound audience.

A newer Fire Red 4 is planned for fall 2027, expected to be retooled even closer to the original.

How to identify the 2020 pair

Look for style code DC7770-160. The upper is primarily white leather with black netting, a black tongue, heel tab and midsole sections, and Fire Red on the wing eyelets, Jumpman logo, heel tab and forefoot of the sole. Inside is a bright red sockliner, and the outsole is red, white and grey.

The 'Nike Air' heel tab is what separates it from the 2006 and 2012 retros, both of which carry a Jumpman; the 2006 pair also has a Mars Blackmon head on the outer heel. The 2020 shoe also has Jumpman tongue tags, flipped 'Air Jordan' tags on the back of the tongue and printed insoles.

Why it endures

The Black/Cement 4 has The Shot, and the White Cement has the movie. The Fire Red has the Bulls' colors and Jordan's own first night in them, and its 2020 return with the original branding closed a 31-year gap for collectors who wanted the pair as it looked in 1989.

The numbers

Release date: November 28, 2020 (one report: November 27)
Retail price: $200
Style code: DC7770-160
First game in Fire Red: March 21, 1989, Great Western Forum, Inglewood; Bulls 104, Lakers 103; attendance 17,505
Jordan box score: 43:00 min, 7-20 FG, 0-0 3P, 7-8 FT, 21 PTS, 8 REB, 16 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 5 TOV
Production: No production figures have been published

Timeline

Dec 1988
One reference work dates the Air Jordan 4's public release to December 1988.
Feb 1989
Jordan debuts the Air Jordan 4 at the All-Star Game in Houston.
Mar 21, 1989
Jordan first wears the Fire Red 4, at the Lakers: 21 points, 16 assists, Bulls win 104-103.
Jul 21, 1989
Do the Right Thing is released, with its Air Jordan 4 scene.
2005
A Fire Red 'Laser' 4 adds laser graphics and translucent lace tabs.
2006
Fire Red retro with a Mars Blackmon heel graphic and Jumpman branding.
2012
Fire Red retro with a Jumpman heel and a darker red.
Nov 28, 2020
The Fire Red 4, DC7770-160, releases at $200 with 'Nike Air' on the heel (one report gives November 27).
2027
Another Fire Red 4 retro is expected in the fall.

The world in 2020

Jan 26, 2020
Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others die in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Feb 2, 2020
Kansas City beats San Francisco 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV.
Mar 11, 2020
The NBA suspends its season after Rudy Gobert tests positive for the coronavirus.
Mar 13, 2020
President Trump declares a national emergency over COVID-19.
Apr 19, 2020
The Last Dance premieres on ESPN.
Oct 11, 2020
The Lakers win the title in the bubble, beating Miami 106-93 in Game 6.

Price record

Date	Price	Kind
Oct 3, 2026	$264	Asking price, not a saleLowest listed asking price at a U.S. sneaker retailer on this date.

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 4 Retro 'Fire Red' is number 83 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 (78 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

Jordan's first game in the Fire Red 4 was a 16-assist night.
The 2006 Fire Red 4 put Spike Lee's Mars Blackmon on the heel.
Do the Right Thing's '108 with tax' line is the shoe's 1989 price, $100, plus tax.
Tinker Hatfield deliberately moved away from the 3's exotic look for the 4, calling it 'more utilitarian.'
The famous 'Shot' over Craig Ehlo came in a different Air Jordan 4, the black-and-cement pair.

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