National Basketball Association

Watch MJ shatter a backboard to get hyped for the next Air Jordan release

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:01 p.m. ET

foxsports

In the summer following Michael Jordan's rookie season, he traveled to Trieste, Italy to appear in an exhibition contest. On his way to dropping 30 that day, Jordan shattered a backboard on a slam dunk -- just one of many iconic moments that would mark his legendary career.

“Glass was everywhere. The backboard exploded. I’m looking at his eyes, his ears … looking for little bits of glass,” remembers Howard White, VP of Jordan Brand. “In the moment, it was wild. It was a little scary, because we didn’t know where the glass was going. They were playing and then there was that moment. I don’t know of any moment where one can detect something otherworldly has happened, but that one has become something grand. For MJ, though, it was just a moment in the game.”

As a celebration of this moment, Jordan Brand will be releasing new AJ XXXI “Shattered Backboard” and AJ 1 “Shattered Away” colorways on Saturday, Oct. 8.