How the New Balance 480 May Have Had Its Own Jordan Moment

There’s no denying that New Balance has had a big few years, powered both by its incredible archive of heritage classics, as well as its showstopping new product development division. That being said, with such a huge catalogue of silhouettes, it's easy for some to fly under the radar. Over the past couple of months, we’ve loved seeing the revival of the brand’s 480 model, a shoe that’s enjoyed success in multiple disciplines - most notably skateboarding (in its Numeric form), and basketball. And, if you weren’t already aware, the 480 actually has a pretty interesting story behind it - one that involves a certain famous b-ball player.

Coming before NB’s court classics like the 550 and 650, the New Balance 480 may have actually had its very own historic Jordan moment. Joe Freshgood’s latest 650 collaboration opened a bit of a can of worms, reimagining a world where Jordan had signed with the Boston-based brand, which all stemmed from a photo of the player sporting what was rumoured to be a pair of 480s on foot. But it wasn’t just any photo - it may just have been the photo that inspired the Jumpman logo.

This photo, taken back in 1984, certainly bears some resemblance to the logo, but the controversy around it runs way deeper. It was later used in court, as part of a copyright infringement case where photographer Jacobus Rentmeester was suing Nike for that very reason. According to Rentmeester, Nike had actually reached out to him to use the image, before eventually recreating the photo themselves, with a pair of Jordans on.

Now, while the original pair has never been confirmed as a 480 (some still speculate that it could be a 425), it’s still fun to stop and what the scene would have looked like had MJ stuck with New Balance. If niche sneaker moments are your thing, then it's worth checking this pair out - just hit the links below to get your hands on yours.