Did you know MJ played damn near every game of his professional career while wearing a pair of practice shorts in a particular shade of blue under his regular uniform? Superstition’s a crazy thing, but who’s to say what works and what doesn’t?
The lore of MJ’s lucky shorts continues with this AJ3. Full-grain leather in Summit White mixes with Photon Dust suede overlays and Legend and Hydrogen Blue accents to pay homage to the shorts beneath the shorts. We’ve always thought it was the shoes, but maybe it was the shorts all along?

How Michael Jordan’s Superstition Inspired The Air Jordan 3 “Lucky Shorts”

It’s hard to believe that an alpha athlete like Michael Jordan had is own quirks and pre-game rituals. Whether it be a time-sensitive routine or a good luck charm, practicing superstition is rather common among the world’s competitors as a means to reduce anxiety and nerves before big games. For Jordan, it was his college shorts that he wore before every game, a tradition that inspired the upcoming Air Jordan 3 “Lucky Shorts”.

Revealed in detail via Nike official images below, the “Lucky Shorts” Jordan 3s feature a clean white leather upper with touches of a light Photon Dust grey on the toe-guard and heel, while a super-soft shade of Hydrogen Blue fills in the interior while coloring in the Jumpman logo on the tongue. The iconic University Blue, taken from MJ’s college tenure, appears boldly painted on the heel as well as the Jumpman Air emblem on the rear plate. Behind the tongue is a new label mimicking those found on basketball shorts; the numbers and details call out the years this odd superstition was in practice.