Nike Air More Uptempo ‘Olympic’

1996 saw a team of giants reign supreme on home turf in Atlanta, Georgia at the summer games that year. Some of the NBA’s all time greats were assembled to form the Olympic squad that would defeat every country that stepped out onto the court. Five members from the ’92 Barcelona Dream Team were present, including Charles Barkely, John Stockton, Karl Malone, David Robinson and the Chicago Bulls’ legendary small forward Scottie Pippen. Among the plethora of shoes created for the games (shouts to Charles Barkely’s Air Force 180’s) one pair stood out instantly.

Scottie had already made a name for himself wearing the original More Tempo (the OG Black & White version, which changed it’s name to the ‘Uptempo’ years later) during the Bulls’ historic season that year, and although it wasn’t specifically his signature shoe, by the time the Olympic version came around the association was pretty much sealed (He’d later go on to receive his own official Nike signature Pippen series in ’97). Instantly the navy ‘Olympic’ version has a lot more visual impact on foot, with the block capital ‘AIR’ lettering extending down onto the midsole rather than the simpler outlined on the first version.

The original version (which last re-released in 2012 during the London games) featured Pippen’s jersey number ‘8’ on the rear heeltab. The upper comprises of a navy nubuck underlay, and the overlapping bold letters are formed with two layers of leather with padding in between. Accompanying the understated side branding (…) are swooshes on the toe and heel, one embroidered and the other as an embellished plastic jewel. Finishing with the unmissable full length air bag that almost struggles to be contained within the midsole, this was the most amount of Air that had been compressed into a shoe at that time.

The Nike Air More Uptempo ‘Olympic’ will be available online and in selected size? stores on Thursday 21st July, priced at £140 in sizes 6-12.

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