This is how one sneaker release transformed an entire brand. The period from 2000 to 2005 was a time during which sneakerheads were given the opportunity to explore their own niche. We forged relationships with shop-owners, enjoyed the greatest sneaker collaborations in history, and resold only when we had to. All the while, the brands didn’t have much of a grasp about what was going on and frankly nobody outside of our weird foot fetish did either.

During that span, the Air Jordan Retro was just one of the many categories that operated in its own ecosystem, and it was far from being the ubiquitous retro basketball shoe it is today. Back then, some rocked SB Dunks or Air Force 1s (rarely both). Others hunted after general-release Retro runners that were often available at clearance. There were campouts for certain collaborations, but Jordans almost never garnered a massive crowd like it does so often today. 2001 will go down as the best year in Air Jordan Retro history, but nobody gave a damn then, and the enthusiasts that go wild today are either too young or too new to this.

Most of the time, we copped Jordans simply because we couldn’t have them back in the day. But if it wasn’t an original colorway, that shoe rarely mattered. There was no cultural or historical tie to why the color pink belonged on an Air Jordan VI (a Low, no less), and there never will be. In fact, that was the whole stigma against new retro colorways; there was no reason for them to exist, because Michael never wore them. There are exceptions to that rule, like the Laney 5s and the Cool Grey 11s – that latter which was the subject of a segment in TLC’s “Buy-ology”, an educational program that explored purchase habits of the obsessed. Shows like that have been cancelled, of course, in favor of the garbage that’s on air today.

In 2005, not a year after Michael Jordan officially ended his playing career, word started to spread about a unicorn of a sneaker release. I remember all the comments of disbelief on NikeTalk when the news first spread, and those thoughts were justified because it just seemed too good to be true. At the time, the Air Jordan VI and Air Jordan XI were the two most popular Air Jordans – more so than the Air Jordan 1 and even the Air Jordan III. It had been half a decade since Jordan Brand put out either shoe on store shelves, so to release both as part of a package didn’t seem possible. It seemed out of Jordan Brand’s realm of concern.

As photos and release info continued to trickle through, it was quickly understood that the Defining Moments Package was more than a shoe release – it was a necessary and appropriate tribute to Michael Jordan done in a way that pushed the envelope and forced the industry to step up its collective game. It was a history lesson in shoe form and it shifted the public perception of Jordan Brand from a company hinging on old products to one that uses the past to educate the future. The challenge for Jordan Brand today is to educate the young consumer that never saw MJ play or is too busy retweeting Jordan crying memes to look up old clips. How will the brand fare? Will anyone really care about Jordans in fifteen years?

It was hard to comprehend just how two shoes would be released as one package. Would we receive to separate boxes? Is it possible to buy just one? How will this behemoth fit in my sneaker closet? Those were the wrong questions to ask. It was indeed one box, and an item of this stature deserves its own space in a sneaker closet. You don’t make it fit – you make room for it.

For this release, Jordan Brand introduced a two-tiered package design housed in a metallic gold outer shell with the Jumpman logo, 91, and 96 minimally detailed on the box. It simply was unlike anything we’ve ever seen and although the element of surprise was lost thanks to all those leaked photos, it was still a sight to behold. On January 28th, 2006, the Defining Moments Package finally hit stores for $295, a price that was more than double anything out on the market. By today’s standards, that’s a bargain.

What many don’t remember is that the release of the shoes was actually delayed. It was originally intended to drop in November, but was delayed due to production issues. We’ll touch on that later. Anyway, some shops received as little as six units to sell. There were campouts at most locations. Other stores open their doors to no crowds at all, which meant that some lucky individuals just strolled right in and walked out with multiple units of this monster.

The Defining Moments Box
The Defining Moments Box
The Defining Moments Box
The Defining Moments Box
The Defining Moments Box

Michael Jordan’s career can be remembered by a number of ways, but what we all associate with his name is his collection of championship rings. Since calling it quits for good in 2004, sports reporters and basketball historians have always wondered just how long the Bulls dynasty could’ve reached. Could they have won in ’94 and ’95, or in ’99 and ’00? Quite possibly, but the Jordan Defining Moments Package was created to celebrate what he had accomplished rather than wondering what opportunities were missed.

The inner shell of the box opens like a book, revealing two distinct images of Michael Jordan in flight. On the left is Michael’s iconic mid-air hand-switch against the Lakers in 1991, a play that was unnecessary in the scheme of the game, but significant in planting himself as the most dominant player in basketball. From that moment on, no player or team in the NBA could check him. It wasn’t that Magic and the Lakers began to look old – they were being rendered obsolete.

While the image from 1991 speaks to Jordan’s hard-fought climb to the top, the memories of 1996 speak to his redemptive spirit. Just a year ago, Jordan and the Bulls were trounced from the Playoffs by the young Orlando Magic. Taking that loss to heart, Jordan stepped back on the court the following season with unparalleled drive, leading the Bulls to a record-setting 72 wins (a mark sadly broken by the Golden State Warriors) and a convincing Finals win over the Seattle Sonics. Jordan had reclaimed the seat that he had vacated a few years ago.

Jordan in flight; 1991
Jordan in flight; 1996

By this point, this “unboxing” is clearly not what you’d expect. It doesn’t start and end with opening a box lid. It forces you to sit back and be reminded of the greatness of MJ. This Defining Moments Package is not a run-of-the-mill sneaker release – it’s an experience that only true Jordan fans could appreciate. 2006 was a barely ripe era for social media and YouTube was completely devoid of “unboxing” videos. The best photos out there were shot with digital cameras boasting nothing more than 3.2 megapixels. It’s unfortunate that some self-proclaimed Jordan fanatics have never seen these in person.

Those images of Jordan in ’91 and ’96, shot in black and gold with his surroundings completely blurred out, act as protective covers for the shoes. They are lightweight rather prone to bends and scratches, but easily lift upwards to reveal the true prize inside. The shoes, wrapped in a durable white paper, sit dormant like a diamond ring does inside a Tiffany’s box. The plastic covers are a little something we added to further protect the shoes from contamination. Gotta keep ’em crispy, at all costs.

One by one, we take the shoes out. That moment you lay your hands on the durabuck uppers is akin to holding your newborn for the first time – minus all the biological gunk. We, of course, have our white gloves on. Necessary? No. Excessive? Depends on who you ask.

Secondly, the Air Jordan XI rises out of its cave. Emotional and physiological reactions permeate the body, similarly to what occurs inside a high-school freshman when sees the alpha cheerleader in a two-piece at the county pool. He’ll never forget it; it’s a defining moment of boyhood.

There is some real history behind these shoes, and Jordan Brand made sure to make a lesson out of it. Up until that point, most Air Jordan re-issues came with a postcard briefly detailing the history of that particular shoe. These were affectionally dubbed “retro cards”, and more often than not, it had to be included with the shoe to make it complete. No retro card? Sorry, it’s not truly deadstock. For the DMP, Jordan Brand took it a step further and created an accordion-style booklet that, with the metallic gold finish, gave it the appearance of an unearthed relic.

This wasn’t the first time Jordan Brand went far and wide to include some inserts like this booklet. Just a couple of years ago, the newly unveiled Air Jordan XVII came with its own booklet and CD. The Air Jordan XVIII had a brush to ensure proper care for the suede. The Defining Moments booklet was far more elevated in that it reflected the luxurious nature of the shoe while telling a story of Jordan’s greatest career accomplishments, which is something Jordan Brand does a bit too freely nowadays.

The Defining Moments booklet
Michael Jordan, in flight
The complete goods

The Air Jordan VI is among the most revered Jordans of all-time, and rightfully so; it is recognized as the first “championship” shoe – the one that permanently cemented his name among the all-time greats. As Michael’s career continued to blossom, the competition grew and his battles against the Eastern Conference powerhouses like the Bad Boys in Detroit and the veteran-filled Boston Celtics gave us glimpses into the future. He overcame the hump in 1991 and led the Chicago Bulls to the Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers – a team that he alone rendered old and outdated. It was the start of a dynasty and his enemies around the league knew it.

That’s why despite the over-saturation and superfluous Air Jordan VI releases – particularly from 2014, the Air Jordan VI will always be regarded as a significant relic in sports and shoe history. It gave sports historians and sneakerheads an undeniable connection and the proof is in the insane dollars that a game-worn pair from the ’91 Finals ended up selling for. This Air Jordan VI release was one of the first that communicated that historical significance. It took the original “Infrareds” that Michael wore and transformed it into an archaeological find thanks to the hits of gold.

We’re being obvious here, but the shoes are a thing of beauty. There’s no denying it. Quickly becoming one of the most sought after shoes on the market, the Air Jordan VI DMP climbed and climbed in value and at one point, reached higher in value than its Air Jordan XI counterpart. Today, it is still marked as a “grail” by many, and even with the oversaturation of the Air Jordan VIs on the market, it will never lose its esteem. Going back to the postponed release of the shoes; the brand wasn’t entirely happy with the quality of the shoes, citing durabuck upper as one of the concerns. For what it’s worth, the quality on the DMP 6s were above average.

The Air Jordan VI
The Air Jordan VI
The new Jumpman and 23 logo
The new Jumpman and 23 logo
The signature lacelock
Minor oxidation on the tongue
The golden Jumpman on the sole
Hits of gold on the midsole
Hits of gold on the midsole
The Air Jordan VI hangtag
The Air Jordan VI hangtag

While the Air Jordan VI was about history, the Air Jordan XI was about iconoclastic style. The patent leather upper might not have belonged on a basketball shoe. After Michael wore ’em, it made other shoes look they were the odd ones out. The pure sex appeal of this sneaker describes that carnal feeling of what copping a fresh pair of kicks is like, and there’s no comparable feeling. It broke the mold and bridged the gap between performance shoes and high fashion. The Air Jordan XI was a defining moment of pop culture, but Michael didn’t care. He just wanted to win.

Ironically, the Air Jordan XI isn’t entirely marked by “winning”. MJ actually debuted the shoes in 1995, and actually lost a series in them. But Michael came back with a vengeance, fueled by the remarks of sports analysts that pegged him a shell of his former self. He kicked his own ass in the Summer of 1995 and returned to the Bulls ready to reclaim the throne. All he did was set an NBA record with 72 wins and win his fourth NBA championship, the first of a second three-peat.

The Air Jordan XI “DMP” could’ve been a flawless shoe, if it were not for the damn hangtag. First off, the gold paint on the accessory actually stained the white nylon uppers of the shoe. Prolonged exposure of the material permanently stained the finicky material, which left a lot of shoe collectors supremely pissed off. In addition, the information laid out on the hangtag was incorrect. Michael sealed his fourth NBA championship on June 16th, 1996. The date on the hangtag reads June 26th, 1996; on that date Jordan was likely in the Bahamas, smoking a fat cigar while sipping on champagne. Jordan Brand also tinkered with a different design, which featured the word “JORDAN” spelled out on the eyelets. That idea was scrapped, but apparently some still received them as part of their package. The rest were sent to Nike outlets.

Air Jordan XI “DMP”
Air Jordan XI “DMP”
Air Jordan XI “DMP”
Air Jordan XI “DMP”
Air Jordan XI “DMP”
Air Jordan XI “DMP”
Air Jordan XI “DMP”
Air Jordan XI “DMP”

Well, there you have it. We unboxed a shoe that, whether you like to accept it or not, is one of the most thorough and celebrated releases of all-time. After the Defining Moments Package, the perception of Jordan Brand changed. It was less a company that released shoes through a controlled and predictable schedule, and more of one that told stories through a medium that youth culture and 90s babies were gaining an affinity for at an alarming rate. Will there ever be a release like the DMP? The answer is no, and although a defining moment can never be repeated, it’ll never be forgotten.