The 10 Greatest Sports Moments Powered by Nike Air

April 11, 2024

Eliud Kipchoge wearing Nike Air running sneakers and pointing forward as he leads a running marathon.

Athletes generate indelible moments on Nike Air and these moments possess an atmosphere all their own. Each moment is a world built on winning. On Air, records are shattered; milestones, set; championships, won. On Air, athletes change culture and capture the collective imagination.

She scored how many? He ran how fast?
It would seem unattainable.

But on Air?

On Air, it actually happened.

To revisit Air’s greatest moments is to understand both their impossibility and their inevitability. No record is safe. On Air, the athletes are coming.

In a world without Air, we’d lose every aspect of these treasured triumphs.

In a world with Air, we’ve already won — and we will keep on winning.

Here, the 10 greatest sports moments powered by Nike Air.

Eliud Kipchoge, Breaking 2 and the Nike Alphafly Prototype

A white sneaker with a grey swoosh on the front and a pink heel in the back that has "ZOOMX" printed on it and Eliud Kipchoge's signature written on it in pen.

Nike Alphafly Prototype

Eliud Kipchoge personifies limitlessness, smashing records and redefining what’s possible for an entire sport. During 2017’s Nike’s Breaking2 challenge in Monza, Italy, Kipchoge bettered the standing marathon world-record by nearly three minutes, a jaw-dropping feat. Two years later in Vienna, Austria, wearing a prototype of Nike’s Air Zoom Alphafly Next%, Kipchoge became the first person to do the unthinkable: finish a marathon in under 2 hours. Kipchoge’s time of 1:59:40 will always represent his credo: no human is limited.

Kelvin Kiptum, the marathon world record and the Nike Alphafly 3

A white sneaker with orange tint, a black swoosh on the side, a neon orange sole support, and "20820-4" written in pen on the heel.

Nike Alphafly 3

Kelvin Kiptum raced in three marathons in his life; he won them all. In 2022, at Valencia, Kiptum set the record for fastest-ever marathon debut. In April 2023, Kiptum set a course record at the London Marathon before winning the Chicago Marathon in October. Crossing the finish line in Chicago in the Nike Alphafly 3, Kiptum recorded the fastest-ever marathon in a record-eligible race. In February 2024 Kiptum tragically died in a car accident. He remains the marathon world record holder.

Sheryl Swoopes, WNBA dominance and the Air Tuned Swoopes V

A white sneaker with a black leather backing and a black web-like pattern with red trim.

Air Tuned Swoopes V

Basketball trailblazer Sheryl Swoopes is the WNBA’s cornerstone player, the first ever to sign with the league in 1996. She recorded the league’s first triple double, was the league first 3-time MVP and its first 3-time Defensive Player of the Year. In Swoopes’ first 4 years in the WNBA, she helped lead her team, the Houston Comets, to the league’s first 4 championships. There was never any argument about who would be the first female athlete to have a Nike signature shoe—it had to be Sheryl Swoopes.

Kobe Bryant, an 81-point game and the Nike Zoom Kobe 1

A white sneaker with a black swoosh on the side of the angle, an indigo sole on the toe region, and an indigo cuff.

Nike Zoom Kobe 1

Between the years 1963 and 2006, no NBA player scored more than 70 points in a game. On January 22, 2006, Kobe Bryant—in Nike Zoom Kobe 1s—hit the court against Toronto and broke that 43-year spell. Kobe dropped 81, the second highest single-game total in NBA history. No NBA player has broken 80 since. The magnitude of 81 is staggering, eternal.

Sha’Carri Richardson, the fastest woman in the world and the Air Zoom Maxfly

A white sneaker with "Flyweave" printed by the front of the cuff, a pink outline of a Nike swoosh, and a light green sole with spiked cleats.

Air Zoom Maxfly

In August 2023, Sha’Carri Richardson blazed her way to the title of Fastest Woman in the World upon winning the 100-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Wearing Nike’s Air Zoom Maxfly, Sha’Carri set a new event record with a 10.65-seconds finish.

Michael Jordan, highlight-reel hang time and the Air Jordan 14

A black Nike sneaker with an Air Jordan emblem on the side of the cuff and a red arch in the sole.

Air Jordan 14

Down 1 and with seconds remaining in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, Michael Jordan steals the ball from the Utah Jazz and takes matters into his own hands. At the top of the key, Jordan fakes acceleration, stops on a dime, pulls up, hangs in the air with a broken defender beneath him. Of course, the shot is perfect. Jordan’s Bulls win their sixth championship, completing their second three-peat. No athlete has ever carried us into the Air like Jordan. His last championship moment is among his finest.

Serena Williams, an astounding summer and the Air Max Mirabella 3

A white sneaker with a black Nike swoosh on the side mesh, a bright yellow stripe across the toe and heel, and a bright yellow toecap.

Air Max Mirabella 3

Only Serena Williams deserves to be commemorated with her own season. During 2012’s Summer of Serena, Williams dazzled and dominated, winning singles and doubles championships at Wimbledon, the singles title at the US Open, and her first Olympic singles tennis medal. Capturing solo gold at the London Games, Williams became the first tennis player in history to complete the Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.

Caitlin Clark, the all-time scoring record and the Nike Kobe Protro

A dark grey sneaker with yellow laces, a yellow toecap, yellow siding with a dark grey Nike swoosh, and a red rear cuff.

Nike Kobe 5 Protro

With a free throw in the final game of her senior season, Iowa guard Caitlin Clark recorded her 3,668th point wearing the Nike Kobe 6 Protro, making her the NCAA all-time scoring leader. Clark captivated fans around the globe all season long, knocking off one scoring record after the next, almost entirely in retro Nike sneakers such as the Kobe 5 Protro pictured here. Rising above every man and woman to ever play college basketball, Caitlin Clark now stands alone as the game’s apex scorer.

Ken Griffey Jr., a Father’s Day feat and the Swingman Air Griffey

A dark grey sneaker with a small white Nike swoosh on the side, a red stripe around the ankle, a yellow tab on the heel that says "Swingman," and a white sole with cleats.

Swingman Air Griffey

No player in the history of baseball has a sweeter signature swing than Ken Griffey Jr. During a home game in Cincinnati on Father’s Day, 2004, Griffey Jr. strode to the plate and leveraged that swing right into the record books, becoming only the 20th player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit 500 home runs. Making matters even sweeter, Griffey Jr. shared the moment with his father, former MLB teammate and Reds all-time great, Ken Griffey Sr. After rounding the bases and touching home, Griffey Jr., in swingman Air Griffey cleats, spotted his dad in the crowd for a Father’s Day embrace.

LeBron James, the NBA scoring crown and the Nike LeBron XX

A light teal sneaker with a maroon Nike swoosh layered on top of a teal swoosh on the side, orange shoelace tabs, a pink sole, and a pink rear cuff.

Nike LeBron XX

After hitting a masterful step-back jumper from 21 feet at the end of the 3rd quarter in a 2023 regular season home game against Oklahoma City, LeBron James jogged past midcourt, held his arms in the air and stopped time. The game paused and the whole world watched LeBron celebrate becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing a record held for four decades. With a regal 38,388 points now to his name, and Nike LeBron XXs on his feet, King James addressed the masses with gratitude, telling them his dreams had come true.