The last AJ1 I picked up were the Air Jordan 1 Crimson, but now it’s time to move on to these Air Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard 3.0. The shoes are nicknamed as the third in the series of Shattered Backboard lineage of colorways on the Air Jordan 1.
These come with black laces and orange spare laces. The first Shattered Backboard AJ1s released in 2015 and were roughly colorblocked after the Black Toe colorway. They swap the toebox and red areas on the blacktoe’s blocking for orange. The colorway is based on the uniform Michael Jordan wore during an exhibition game in Italy. During the game, he shattered the backboard. These featured a graphic of a shattered backboard on the insole. This shoe was so well-liked based on quality and color that it spawned a lineage of sneakers. This includes a “2.0” release with Chicago-style blocking, lows, mids, Satins, and now these. Known as the 3.0, these keep the black/orange/sail type of colorway. They also completely switch up the materials on the uppers utilizing Banned/Bred 1 colorblocking.
I impulse-bought a pair of these, as the sneaker fiend inside kicked in on release date. I’m glad I was able to get them for retail, and now that I have them, I’m satisfied with the pickup. I’m not sure how often I’ll go to these to wear, but they are nice enough to keep in the collection for now, and they are very eye-catching in hand.
How Are The Materials?
While previous Shattered Backboard releases have famously had good to great leather quality, these flipped the whole concept, going with a crinkled patent leather material on the upper instead. This alone almost had me not buying these, as the material quality aspect of this series seemed to have gone by the wayside.
Now that I have these in hand, I can’t really judge the materials, as for me there’s not a huge difference between good and bad patent leather. The shoe is shiny enough, and the crinkled texturing is definitely interesting. I honestly feel that the issue isn’t the quality so much as the type of materials. Of course, buttery leather would have been great on these, but in a way, the different materials make these stand out in a way that a lot of shoes don’t.
The shoe composition takes a potentially low-key colorway and makes it look extra special. If you are into something different on a pair of 1s material-wise, you might be interested in checking these out in hand.
How Do They Fit?
At true to size, Air Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard 3.0 are comfortable for me. I find these fit about the same as other Air Jordan 1s and aren’t quite as stiff as I thought they would be judging from pics online. Overall these have an acceptable level of comfort for a Jordan retro.
Where To Buy the Air Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard 3.0
As of the writing of this article, you can find them on eBay.
Colorway: Black / Starfish – Pale Vanilla
Style Code: 555088-028
Year of Release: 2019
MSRP: $160