It's hard to imagine just where the sneaker world would be if it weren't for the Air Jordan 3.
Launched in January 1988, the AJ3 will forever be associated with MJ's soaring dunk from the free throw line, his second dunk contest victory, All-Star Game MVP honours, and the first of his five regular-season MVP awards. It also managed to make Spike Lee's Mars Blackmon a household name, and introduced a trio of instant icons: elephant print, Tinker Hatfield, and the one and only Jumpman. In fact, if it weren't for Hatfield's design, there may not even be a Jordan Brand.
In honour of the Air Jordan 3's place in footwear lore, we're taking a look back at the best versions of the silhouette to ever hit shelves.
Check out 10 of our favourites below and stay tuned for part two of this retrospective.