EXCLUSIVE: Detailed Look at the ‘Veterans Day’ Air Jordan 18 and Air Jordan 32

Veterans Day is this Saturday and to honor our country’s military, Jordan Brand’s created two new colorways of the Air Jordan XVIII and the Air Jordan XXXII. Jimmy Butler and Jeff Green have already worn the XVIII this week and Andre Drummond laced up the XXXII on Wednesday. The not-for-release sneakers have camo graphics on them, inspired by the armed forces.

The Air Jordan XVIII and the Air Jordan XXXII were both designed by Tate Kuerbis. SLAM was in Italy with Kuerbis in August for the launch of the XXXII, Jordan Brand’s first Flyknit basketball sneaker.

“To be honest, this was probably one of the more challenging game shoes that I’ve worked on,” Kuerbis said back in Italy. “Flyknit was new and when you work in Flyknit, it’s not like if you make a change, you just go and cut out a new piece. You have to go talk to your programmer, and your poor programmer’s like, ‘I just spent two days programming this knit thing and you want to change the structure? That means a whole new program.’ By the end of it, we had over 300 programs for just this front part.

“I really felt like if we were gonna do Flyknit, we had to do it in a Jordan way,” Kuerbis continued. “Something that felt completely different from Nike, something that felt distinctly Jordan.”

The “Veterans Day” XXXII has green Flyknit that’s complemented by a suede upper, featuring a camo pattern. It sits on top of a gum outsole that’s built with Zoom Air units in the forefoot and heel and a Flight Speed plate in the middle.

The XVIII was Kuerbis’ first project as head designer at Jordan Brand. The sneaker’s midsole made use of the carbon fiber that MJ loved so much. And for the “Veteran’s Day” version, its upper has a suede camo pattern.

Besides Butler, Green and Drummond, other Jordan Brand athletes will be wearing the “Veteran’s Day” sneakers for the rest of this week. Scroll through the gallery above for an exclusive in-depth look at them.

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Inside the Design of the Air Jordan XXXII

Photos by Joseph Sherman