AIR JORDAN 14 BLACK/VARSITY RED : Last Shot in Sydney

The Air Jordan 14 Black/Varsity Red or more affectionately known as the "Last Shots" are one of my favorites Air Jordans. Back in June 14, 1998, I just came home from uni exams and had my brother taped the game for me. I watched the tape and throughout the game, it seems the Utah Jazz were in control and the Chicago Bulls were not their usual best. During the last 2 minutes of the game, I had a bad feeling there was going to be a game 7 in Utah and there is no chance the Bulls winning a game 7 situation. But you know what, a miracle unfolded, MJ scored a quick two points with 37.1 seconds. Then he steals the ball from Karl Malone in 21.4 seconds. Dribbles upcourt, drives right, stops on a dime and juked off Bryon Russell. Pulls up in 7.2 seconds and nails the LAST SHOT with 5.2 seconds left on the clock.

Technically the Air Jordan 14 Black/Varsity Red should not be called the LAST SHOTS. The last pair of Air Jordans MJ wore in an NBA game was at Philadelphia in a pair of Air Jordan 18 White/Black-Sport Royal. However to quote Bob Costas, NBC's sports commentator right after MJ nailed the game-winner :
"That may have been [CATCHES BREATH] ....who knows what will unfold in the next several months; but that may have been the last shot Michael Jordan will ever take in the NBA" - Bob Costas NBC sports commentator right after MJ hits the game-winning last shot.

There you go, the name LAST SHOTS stuck and that's how these classic J's shall and will forever be known. And just to satisfy the stickybeaks who say the Air Jordan 14 shouldn't be called LAST SHOTS, why don't we now refer the Air Jordan 18 White/Black-Sport Royal as the FINAL SHOTS.

As I watched the game, I realised that MJ was not wearing the Air Jordan 13 Black/Varsity Red that he had worn in Game 1 to 5 of the finals. He was wearing the Air Jordan 14 and after the Chicago Bulls won the championship, I promised myself to get a pair. But alas I searched through Perth and can not find a pair. Did Nike Australia bring the AJ 14 to Australia? No. I don't think so. Never ever saw a pair. But now with the retros, we can relive the moment and reminisce about the miracle.

The Air Jordan 14 were inspired by the Ferrari F355 and NOT the Ferrari Maranello 550M. Michael did own the 550M but it was sometime in later in 1998, right after the prototype and samples were finalised. As per www.jumpman23.com website back in 1998. So no, the Air Jordan 14 was not inspired by the Maranello 550M but instead by the F355. It was bad research by me to say that the AJ 14 was inspired by the Maranello. I hope this clear things up.

The photos were taken on a drizzly Thursday afternoon on Jan 5, 2006. The rain was like fine mist and the temperature was 22C. It was a bit unfortunate timing because during the past Christmas week, Sydney was extremely hot and cloudless. Nevertheless, with my Last Shots safely tucked in my backpack, I strolled through the Sydney Botanic garden to pick a nice shot. There weren't many people walking around which was great opportunity to take some great photos. Unfortunately the fine misty rain persisted and it was clouding up the background shot of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. I did try my best to take good photos. My Last Shots were a bit damp from the fine rain and I thought it added a bit of an impact/ something different to all the other sneaker photos commonly seen. It's as if the shoes were sweating after a tough game. Like a listless beast after a kill.