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The Air Jordan 4 is a popular sneaker among sneakerheads year after year. In this article we will take a brief look at the history of the model and reveal the release date of the original colorways of the 4.
What Year Jordan 4s First Released
The Air Jordan 4 first came out in February 1989 during the All-Star Game. The original colorways of the 4 include Fire Red, Black Cement (or Bred), White Cement and Military Blue.
Released in 1989
Put simply, we first saw the original colorways of the Jordan 4 during the 1989 NBA season.
Around the same time, we also saw the model appear in iconic scenes in movies like Do The Right Thing.
At the time, four original colorways were released.
Since 1989, many other iconic colorways have released, including lifestyle edition versions and other retros either directly or somewhat based on the original colorways.
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Original Jordan 4 Colorway Releases
The original colorways of the Jordan 4 released throughout 1989 at different points in the NBA season.
MJ wore these during the 1989 NBA season
- White Cement – This colorway was worn by Michael Jordan during the 1989 NBA season
- Bred – Bred or “Black Cement” 4s were debuted by MJ during the 1989 NBA Playoffs
- Military Blue – While Jordan did not wear these on court, but were released to the public in 1989 all the same. Perhaps as an early version of an LE or “lifestyle edition” release?
- Fire Red – MJ rocked these on court during the 1989 NBA season.
The First Air Jordan 4 Colorway
The Bred or Black Cement Jordan 4 is likely the first time the world saw the model. While Michael Jordan would wear other colorways during the season, he drew attention to the 4 during the 88-89 playoffs with “the shot”.
Worn during the 89 season playoffs
Michael Jordan won the first round of the 88-89 playoffs with a buzzer beater vs Cleveland. This last-second victory became known as “the shot”.
The iconic game and shot helped immediately launch the new Air Jordan model into the limelight.
MJ would not wear the Bred 4 often after that, opting for the Fire Red and White Cement during the actual 1989 season instead.
Other Notable Air Jordan 4 Releases
Besides the 4 original colorways, there have been a number of notable Air Jordan releases throughout the years.
Below are just a small example of notable Air Jordan 4 releases.
- AJ4 Oreo (1999)
- AJ4 Bling (2000)
- AJ4 Classic Green (2004)
- AJ4 Cool Grey (2004)
- AJ4 Eminem (2005)
- AJ4 Undefeated (2005)
- AJ4 Thunder (2006)
- AJ4 Lightning (2006)
- AJ4 Mist Blue (2006)
- AJ4 Doernbecher (2011)
- AJ4 Toro Bravo (2013)
- AJ4 KAWS (2017)
- AJ4 Travis Scott Cactus Jack (2018)
- AJ4 Union (2020)
- AJ4 A Ma Maniére (2022)
- AJ4 x Nike SB (2023)
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