John Kim 
In 2006, Jordan Brand released its most celebrated non-Air sneaker model called the “Spiz’ike” – a tribute to Spike Lee, his film production company 40 Acres and a Mule, and his role as the memorable and irreplaceable Mars Blackmon. The Spiz’ike, which pulls in key elements from the five Air Jordans that Lee helped immortalize, is perhaps the best “hybrid” sneaker design in the Nike/Jordan history, and there’s no denying that this tribute model to Spike is as revered as the legacy models are.
Since its release in 2006, the Spiz’ike has seen a vast number of releases as well as an introduction to NIKEiD, making the number of colorways truly endless. With the first colorway returning this Saturday, we went back and selected the ten best, starting from the original to one that went all the way to the White House. Check out our compilation of ten awesome Spiz’ike releases and let us know what pairs you have in your collection or if you feel that another pair deserves to be in our batch.
“OG” – 2006
In 2006, Jordan Brand unveiled the Spiz’ike sneaker – a hybrid model containing elements of the Air Jordan III, IV, V, VI, and XX. These five sneakers are key to Spike Lee’s involvement in the early Air Jordan ad campaigns, which featured Mars Blackmon and Michael working together to spread the word on the new sneakers. Only 4,032 pairs of this colorway released exclusively in the East Coast, each individually numbered within the hangtag that came with the shoe.
Black/Varsity Red-Classic Green – 2007
Following the first release of the Spiz’ike was this black-based pair, which took on somewhat of an “Away” look compared to the first. Like the original, this new Spiz’ike colorway took on that Air Jordan identity with the Bulls-based colorway, but introduced that hit of green around the shoe for that unique look.
True Blue – 2007
A tribute to the “True Blue” happened during the first half of 2007; it ushered in the concept of transplanting some of the most memorable colorways fromthe Air Jordan III, IV, V, VI, and XX. This highly coveted release made use of the clean combo of True Blue and Varsity Red from the Air Jordan III.
Kings County – 2007
This unique colorway dubbed “Kings County” is an homage to Spike Lee’s roots in Brooklyn, NY. This release was one of the earlier departures from the simpler colorways akin to the Air Jordans and helped the Spiz’ike take on a legacy of its own.
White/Cement – 2007
Another OG colorway that was touched on is the White/Cement IV – a sneaker that at that point, had not released since 1999. The defining feature of that sneaker is without question the Black speckling on the Grey panels, but this colorway brought it around the sneaker like never before. The red lining was also a fresh accent not seen in the original.
Black/Gold – 2008
The sole Euro-exclusive Spiz’ike happened in 2008 when Jordan Brand dropped this dope Black/Gold colorway across the pond. These are one of the more limited affairs in terms of Spiz’ike distribution and introduced a new laser-etched graphic for the toe-box and the heel.
Bred – 2010
With the Air Jordan IV being meshed into the design, why not give some love to the classic colorway? The “Bred” was a popular pick when it release in 2010, and those who attended Sneaker Con NYC in January of the year will have remembered the exclusive look at the shoe, which was presented at the Sneaker News table.
Stealth – 2010
Continuing the trend of OG colorway homages is the “Stealth” pair that rocked store shelves in December of 2010. These were ported over from the Air Jordan XX of the same colorway, which utilized the same laser-etched detailing and patent leather uppers.
Knicks – 2012
Spike is a die-hard New York Knicks fan an arguably among the most well-known celebrity sports fans in the world. Jordan Brand showed his home team some love with two Knicks-colored renditions – one in a classic Royal Blue suede and another in an Orange tumbled leather.
POTUS – 2012
This new Spiz’ike released went down early in 2013, and although it wasn’t as much of a memorable release like the previous nine mentioned in this feature, it deserves some “cool points” for that fact that Spike gave the President a pair of these in a custom wooden box during the nation’s leader’s trip to Harlem.
