Watch MJ shatter a backboard to get hyped for the next Air Jordan release

In the summer following Michael Jordan's rookie season, he traveled to Trieste, Italy to appear in an exhibition contest. On his way to dropping 30 that day, Jordan shattered a backboard on a slam dunk -- just one of many iconic moments that would mark his legendary career.

“Glass was everywhere. The backboard exploded. I’m looking at his eyes, his ears … looking for little bits of glass,” remembers Howard White, VP of Jordan Brand. “In the moment, it was wild. It was a little scary, because we didn’t know where the glass was going. They were playing and then there was that moment. I don’t know of any moment where one can detect something otherworldly has happened, but that one has become something grand. For MJ, though, it was just a moment in the game.”

As a celebration of this moment, Jordan Brand will be releasing new AJ XXXI “Shattered Backboard” and AJ 1 “Shattered Away” colorways on Saturday, Oct. 8.