The UNC Women’s Basketball Team Receives A Crisp Air Jordan 1 PE

When you play for Michael Jordan’s alma mater, you’re bound to get blessed with some special Jordan Brand product, and the UNC Tar Heels women’s basketball team is the latest University of North Carolina squad to get a footwear blessing from MJ: a fresh take on the Air Jordan 1. Most Tar Heel PEs — except for a handful of models like argyle-accented Air Jordan 4s and a dark blue iteration of the Air Jordan 6 — understandably stick to a similar script, mixing the Tar Heels’ signature powder blue and white shades. This Air Jordan 1 is no exception to that rule, but something makes it exceptional. That something is its vast similarity to the OG Air Jordan 1 “UNC,” a style that dates back to MJ’s rookie year with the Chicago Bulls.

From toe to heel, collar to outsole, this PE is almost a dead ringer for the “UNC.” It mixes a white leather toebox, quarter panel, tongue and collar with powder blue mudguards, forefoot overlays, eyestays, Swooshes, heels and collar flaps, and features familiar branding like a ball-and-wings logo on its lateral collar and a Nike Air hit on its left tongue tag. The right tongue tag, however, is where the only difference comes in. There, the just-mentioned Nike Air hit has been replaced by UNC’s interlocking “NC” logo.

This pair will never see a retail release as it was created exclusively for the women’s basketball program, but you can check ’em out in detail above.

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