Let me tell you, the story of innovation is rarely a straight line. It’s messy, often born from a moment of necessity or a spark of defiance against the status quo. I’ve spent years studying product design and athletic history, and one narrative that continues to fascinate me is the untold story of the first Nike basketball shoe that changed the game forever. We’re not talking about the Air Jordan 1 here, though its legacy is monumental. I’m referring to its often-overlooked predecessor, the Nike Blazer. Its journey mirrors a truth I’ve seen time and again: foundational change is built on a bedrock of resilience, a quality perfectly exemplified in the world of sports, like in that recent PVL bronze medal match where Akari staged an incredible reverse sweep.

Think back to 1973. The basketball shoe landscape was dominated by Converse’s canvas All Stars. Leather was for off-court. Nike, then a fledgling company known for track spikes, saw an opening. They signed “The Iceman,” George Gervin—a player whose smooth, soaring style was the antithesis of the gritty, ground-bound game of the era. The brief wasn’t about flashy marketing; it was about creating a shoe that could contain and support a force of nature like Gervin. The result was the Nike Blazer, a high-top, full-grain leather beast. It was heavier, sturdier, and offered unprecedented ankle support. The innovation wasn’t a visible technology but a philosophical shift: the basketball shoe as a piece of protective equipment, a tool for enabling greater athletic aggression. I’ve held a vintage pair, and the weight of the leather is striking. It speaks to a different era of manufacturing and intention. They didn’t have advanced polymers; they had overbuilt leather and a relentless stitch. In many ways, it was the shoe that gave Nike the confidence to even think about approaching a rookie named Michael Jordan over a decade later.

This narrative of building a foundation for a comeback, of leveraging a sturdy base to enable a stunning reversal, is a timeless sports archetype. It’s what makes games like Tuesday’s PVL battle for third so compelling. Akari, facing a daunting 0-2 deficit against Choco Mucho, didn’t panic. They didn’t abandon their system for flashy, desperate plays. Instead, they doubled down on their fundamentals, on the leather-and-stitches of their game plan: stronger serves, tighter blocks, and relentless defense. They reverse-swept their opponents with scores of 25-15, 25-18, and 15-11 after dropping the first two sets 24-26 and 21-25. That’s a mental and physical turnaround built on a foundation of trust in their core competencies. The Blazer provided that for Nike—a proven, reliable platform. It was the shoe worn by the 1977 Trail Blazers championship team, a tangible symbol of victory that proved Nike belonged on the hardwood. It gave them the credibility to take the monumental risk on the Air Jordan 1, which, let’s be honest, was initially a controversial and even banned design. The Blazer was the quiet, dependable work that made the loud, revolutionary work possible.

In my view, we often glorify the “Air Jordan” moments—the dramatic, culture-shifting breakthroughs—while undervaluing the “Blazer” moments that make them possible. The Blazer’s legacy is woven into the DNA of every subsequent Nike basketball shoe. Its high-top silhouette became the standard. Its use of leather (and later, synthetics) for support set the template. It was the first shoe to truly signal that Nike was a contender in the team sports arena, not just a running specialist. Without the Blazer’s success and the lessons learned from its construction and performance on the feet of stars like Gervin, the entire Air Jordan phenomenon might have unfolded on a different stage, if at all. It’s the unsung hero in the origin story.

So, the next time you see a stunning comeback, whether it’s a volleyball team clawing back from an 0-2 deficit at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to secure a bronze medal shot, or you admire the sleek design of a modern performance sneaker, remember the foundation. The Nike Blazer’s story is a testament to the power of getting the fundamentals rock-solid. It changed the game forever not with a visible air bubble or a celebrity slogan, but by convincing a generation of players and a then-small company that a basketball shoe could be—should be—more. It was the quiet, leather-clad revolution that set the court for the loud, world-changing one to follow. And in my book, that’s a story worth telling.