The Air Jordan XVIII was the first model to introduce the “.5″ series. The Air Jordan XVIII.5 replaced the “+” models as a way to re-introduce the model with a twist. This colorway was made specifically for Mike Bibby while he was playing for the Sacramento Kings. His jersey number, “#10″ is found stitched in purple on the heel. This player exclusive was made to match his teams colors. As these are PE’s, they were made specifically for Mike Bibby and were never available to the public.

Keys: Jordan shoes, Jordan Player Exclusive, Jordan PE’s, Mike Bibby, Jordan, Jordan 18.5, Jordan XVIII, Jordan .5

SPACE
Key Tech: Zoom Air (full-length plus a second “double stacked” Zoom Air unit under the heel), Jordan Carbon Comfort Control Plate sockliner, full-length inner-bootie construction, carbon fiber midfoot support shank

Use: Hoops, Indoor

Position: Guard/Forward (and light centers)

Colorway Tested: Black/Sport Royal

Price: $175

Pros: Very comfortable right out of the box; exceptional cushioning with great response and court feel; surprisingly good support at the ankle; insanely good traction

Cons: A bit too wide at the forefoot; whole shoe imparts a somewhat bulky feel; has a tendency to tip over on hard cuts; rear half of sockliner comes unglued from the footbed and can shift around within the shoe, particularly on quick stops and hard cuts; on the heavy side; expensiveS

PACE

PACE

THE LAST HOORAH

THE AIR JORDAN XVIII WAS A FITTING RIDE FOR HIS AIRNESS’ exit from the NBA. It’s not perfect and is perhaps guilty of an excess of fashion-over-function, but it does manage to recapture the “fun-to-wear” feeling that I think the XVII lacked. Traction is insanely good-which explains a lot-as is cushioning, thanks to the combination of double-stacked Zoom Air and the unique Jordan Carbon Comfort Control Plate under the heel. Comfort and ankle support are also top-notch.

The main downsides are that the XVIII allows a bit too much side-to-side movement within the inner at the forefoot-which is doubly bad because its two-layer outsole gives the shoe an alarming, if infrequent, proclivity to tip over on hard cuts-and a hint of overall bulkiness stemming, I believe, from its fully overlasted design (the XVIII is the first and only Air Jordan shoe to be overlasted around the rearfoot). One last tick in the negative column is that the rear half of the XVIII’s sockliner consistently detaches itself from the base of the inner on quick stops and hard cuts. A little glue should resolve this, but stay away from anything too caustic as it could break down the epoxies used to bind the carbon fiber strands in the Carbon Comfort Control Plate. Oh, and there’s the XVIII’s nosebleed inducing $175 price tag, which is a significant drop from the XVII before it, but stratospheric nonetheless.

So, there are issues; issues you might not be willing to accept from a shoe priced for NBA-sized budgets. But if you have the roll (or an uncle by the name of Trump), the XVIII does deliver some unique benefits, chief among them being its ability to deliver guard-shoe-like feel in a package with protection adequate for large forwards or even light centers. It’s also the last shoe worn by Money as a pro player, which, for an unabashed shoehead such as myself, is priceless.

—From Issue 7, article by Professor K

This was the last colorway released of the original Air Jordan XVIII Low. These, like the other low-top colorways, retailed for $150 and came packaged with a special Air Jordan towel. The towel is white with a blue Jumpman logo to match the sneakers. They also feature a chrome Jumpman logo on the side that was not featured on the highs. The lows also consist of a one-piece designed upper to give it more of a snugg fit as the tongue was not flexible.

In between colorways of the original Air Jordan XVIII, we got the first colorway of the Low. They retailed for $150 and also came with the special Air Jordan towel packaged with the Air Jordan XVIIIs released prior. This one’s towel was black with a silver Jumpman to match the shoe’s colorway. Unlike the highs, which featured a lace cover, these had a more traditional lacing set-up. They also feature a chrome Jumpman logo on the side which was not on the highs.

Taking a page from the Air Jordan XVII book, the Air Jordan XVIII also comes out in a white and red colorway to hold over fans wanting a somewhat Chicago Bulls colorway. This was the second Air Jordan model to not originally release in the traditional black and red colors. This was the third and last colorway to be originally released for the high-top Air Jordan XVIII and came out in the summer of 2003 - August to be exact. It came in the special Air Jordan XVIII box as well as with the Jordan towel which was white with a red Jumpman on it this time around to match the colorway of the sneakers.

First we got the away colorway of the original Air Jordan XVIII, and here we have the home colorway. These were worn by MJ during his final season with the Washington Wizards during home games. These also included a Jordan towel and retailed for $175. MJ wore these in his final All-Star Game as well as in his final NBA game played on the road in Philadelphia.

As the 2002-03 NBA season was in full swing, the new Air Jordan XVIII debuted. This being the second and final season of MJ’s two year contract with the Wizards, this first colorway is made to match the Washington Wizards uniforms. That season was also officially the last time we’d see the greatest to ever play the game on an NBA court again, because at the conclusion of the season Michael Jordan retired for a third and final time, leaving the game behind for good. These retailed at $175, which was a price cut from the last Air Jordan model. This first colorway came in the new Air Jordan XVIII box packaged with a special Jordan towel and a brush because these have an all suede upper which is the first basketball sneaker to do so.