The highly requested retro of the True Blue Air Jordan 3 is finally here.
As a wired-up Kurt Angle once said, “It’s True; It’s Damn True.” For many Jordan fans, this retro is truly years in the making. Finally, the original 1988 colorway of a sneaker that carries a lot of weight in the history of the Air Jordan line is back.
The True Blue 3 last saw a retro launch a decade ago, in the Winter of 2016. Many things have changed within Jordan Brand since then. Many Air Jordan retroes have dropped since then, too. In fact, since the last True Blue 3 retro launched in 2016, its counterparts have lapped it in terms of retro launches.
A White Cement Air Jordan 3 retro launched in 2018 with “Nike Air” Branding on the heel. Five years later, the White Cement 3 returned in 2023 as part of the Reimagined series. Similarly, the Black Cement 3 saw a retro in 2018, and it again returned six years later with a Reimagined retro in 2024. Yes, these aforementioned colorways are indeed benchmarks for Jordan Brand. That said, it allowed a pair like the iconic True Blue to sit on ice. This week, though, the pair has finally thawed out and is ready to be laced up by sneaker heads around the world.
On the court, options were different when the True Blue 3 originally launched in 1988. In those days, NBA stars couldn’t lace up shoes that didn’t match their uniforms. Naturally, since the True Blue 3 didn’t predominantly feature Chicago Bulls colors, the sneaker wasn’t really an on-court option for Jordan. In fact, the only time Jordan wore the True Blue on the court that year was during the 1988 Olympic trials- when MJ famously dropped 24 points in 26 minutes. That would change in 2001, though.
Just like Michael Jordan got a second, technically third, life on the court, so did the True Blue 3s. When Jordan returned to the NBA in 2001, he traded in his Bulls uniform for that of the Washington Wizards. The blue uniforms meant sneakers that Jordan previously could never wear on the court could finally enter his rotation. This second life cemented the legacy of the Air Jordan 3 True Blue. The shoe, which launched in the months that followed Jordan’s return to the NBA, became a staple. It finally got the moments on the court that it deserved in 1988.
Now, the True Blue Air Jordan 3 returns in its most faithful rendition to that 1988 edition yet. According to Jordan Brand, the 2026 retro features a similar feel to that of the original, thanks to the cut of the retro and details like the “Nike Air” branding on the heel. The True Blue 3’s legacy is defined through several eras of Michael Jordan’s career. In a way, it is a little poetic that fans had to wait so long for another retro. After all, the sneaker itself had to wait decades for its moment in the spotlight.
The wait is over, though. The Air Jordan 3 “True Blue” returns this Saturday, July 18th, via Nike and participating Air Jordan retailers like Foot Locker.
Photos courtesy of Nike
