In Retrospect: Air Jordan 3 “Black Cat”
 It was exactly one year today that the “Black Cat” Jordan 3 released. This was the sixth and final Air Jordans 3 that released in the 2006 retro Jordan 3 campaign. For many this was the closest that one could get to the coveted Black/Cement 3’s but to others it wasn’t good enough.
Did you grab? Did you pass? Given that the Jordan 3 Fusions and Black/Cements are close on the horizon does this influence how you will look back at the “Black Cat” Jordan 3’s? Let us know how you will remember these in history after the jump. |
Air Jordan 3 Black/Dark Charcoal-Black - “Black Cat”
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passed…. patiently waiting for the original cement colorways…
Comment by Noodles — June 16, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
Didn’t buy. I resent the PURE$/Black Cat marketing scheme, just as bad as the DTRT crap if you ask me.
Comment by Dj75728 — June 16, 2008 @ 1:21 pm
I copped!! I luv my blackcat and pure 3’s,you can wear em with anything!!
Comment by Travis — June 16, 2008 @ 1:38 pm
I PASSED. ONCE I GOT THE COOL GREY’S I DIDNT CARE MUCH FOR ANY ONTHE 3 … THE FLIPS AND FIRES WERE ILL. BUT THESE WERNT FOR ME…
Comment by ELMO!! — June 16, 2008 @ 1:42 pm
I passed!!!
I like the black cements better!!!
I agree with Dj75728^^^^ !!!
Comment by Dani@23 — June 16, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
I copped these like I copped all the III’s….under-rated for sure.
Comment by drummboy23 — June 16, 2008 @ 1:47 pm
had to cop!
Comment by MickeyTSmoove — June 16, 2008 @ 1:51 pm
i copped i wear then all the time good shoe.i have the black/cements but you just cant live in the past it is what is im not going to wait 10 years for the the cement 3s to come out i think there coming back in october ctd pack but f**k it live i in the preasent not in the past thats my opinion.and you know what i would get the 3 fusions in september the blacks/white cements these retros coming out in the CTD PACKS they look cheap
Comment by raul — June 16, 2008 @ 1:53 pm
i have the black cats and the pures. i haven’t worn my black cats in almost a year though.one day not too long after getting them i noticed my shoelace was dragging, when i went to tie my shoe,there it was. 1 side of the lace was yanked off or something
i dont know if it got caught in a door, but i was pissed. the laces are unique so now i have a side with the laces and i side without. haven’t looked at em since. kinda dumb, but until i can find some new laces with th print on them, i wont wear em
Comment by bkbigjay — June 16, 2008 @ 1:55 pm
its not like they were my favorite to begin with, i prefer my fire reds
Comment by bkbigjay — June 16, 2008 @ 1:56 pm
they hot but i dont like all black shoes besides the metallic V’s. but i think the laces on the black cats are awesome. it brings out the shoe so much
Comment by richay14 — June 16, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
PASSED.
Comment by buddblazer — June 16, 2008 @ 2:03 pm
Copped and liked them. They were plain but they stood out
Comment by TASJ7045 — June 16, 2008 @ 2:08 pm
passed..but thats only because not a fan of white or black retro J’s..prefer colors
but how could some one refer to the DTRT’s as crap?
Comment by Fresh.Azz.Dude — June 16, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
there wack..i like my black cement IIIs better
Comment by gold — June 16, 2008 @ 2:15 pm
I liked theese so much when I first saw them online but when I got them it turned out JB made too many of them so I saw evey body else wearin them so I’ll keep mines fresh till every one wears theirs out.
Comment by hector — June 16, 2008 @ 2:15 pm
I copped .. i love my black cats and still rock em to this day
Comment by jordanfiend14 — June 16, 2008 @ 2:16 pm
definitely copped….didnt get tha pure$$’s but still want em!!! i wore my black cats out so i’ll have buy my babys all over again!!!!! n they definitely need to make a black cat fusion 3!!!
Comment by PHIL G — June 16, 2008 @ 2:43 pm
I’ve been tempted more than once but didn’t cop…something about them I like alot though—next time I get the opportunity i’ll probably go for it…(disclaimer: “unless I get the blk cement first”)
Comment by nikeindabutt — June 16, 2008 @ 2:45 pm
Just the patent that kills it for me…
Comment by Dan Love — June 16, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
passed on this black on black crime !!!!
Comment by mexiking — June 16, 2008 @ 3:01 pm
copped then a day later sold them. i don’t know they just didn’t do it for me i would of rather copped a pair of black air forces
Comment by piff — June 16, 2008 @ 3:03 pm
i remember wen deez dropped
i passed on’em cuz they jus
didnt have that “supreme” jordan
look to me like you get wen u
see flips or even the true blues,
it was jus anotha shoe that to
me was sumthn that culd’ve been better
Comment by xxcoreyxx — June 16, 2008 @ 3:09 pm
I did not fux wit em. I got the White and Mocha 3’s they go soooo fresh wit my Jim Brown (cleveland) jersey. NOW THAT IS RETRO BABY!
Comment by Jerronimo — June 16, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
passed Had way to many black kicks
Comment by abelino — June 16, 2008 @ 3:27 pm
my local footlocker sold out, but 1 of tha refs tried 2 sale me tha 1’s on his feet, so passed on that. But end up gettin tha fire reds.
Comment by atown907 — June 16, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
cop’t…despite the patent, that black nubuck is nice…
Comment by dopasaurus — June 16, 2008 @ 3:34 pm
I copped the cool greys,the flips,and the fire reds,I passed on the black cats
Comment by Rob528 — June 16, 2008 @ 3:35 pm
i cop had no choice but to get these n the $’s but i hate i pass on the DTRT…
Comment by curtis — June 16, 2008 @ 3:43 pm
Don’t think these have a place in history, especially for those that have been around when Black/Cements were introduced (or re-introduced).
Comment by Stoj23 — June 16, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
i copped em. hit one of my best friends wit a pair for his birthday. and i still am sittin on 1. i like these with non-baggy jeans, fresh.
Comment by princeofthecity — June 16, 2008 @ 3:45 pm
I hate all black kicks; even if they are J3’s.
They look like blobs of black ink on your feet.
Comment by Chris — June 16, 2008 @ 4:02 pm
Did not purchase…
I’m all for the re-invention of a classic…but the Air Jordan 3 is an especially hard one. I didnt particularly love this colorway because it simply does not do or give the famed elephant print any justice, too dark. And, I’m probably the only one out there, but I feel patent leather is CURRENTLY being overused. My 2nd favorite Air Jordan of all time is the XI, but nowadays its like “oh, lets just throw patent leather on there, it will sell.”
Honestly, if there was a need for this discussion, the Black Cats probably werent as successful as JB had hoped. Same goes for the all white.
Personally, I’d like to see the classic AJ 3 be retroed with very small, yet tastful color changes. Example…instead of the true blues…why not just change the blue to a sick orange or green and keep everything else classic? I’d lineup for those.
Comment by Biggins — June 16, 2008 @ 4:03 pm
Great Js I wear them so much idc what people say there sick. I didn’t pass on these Jordans. Thank god I didn’t.
Comment by ZJ — June 16, 2008 @ 4:11 pm
Great Js I wear them so much idc what people say there sick. I didn’t pass on these Jordans.
Comment by ZJ — June 16, 2008 @ 4:12 pm
i passed on these and the pures. i felt like they look like a regular pair of “UPS” THATS AIR FORCE 1. A BLACK PAIR AND A WHITE PAIR THATS JUST WAK TO ME THATS JUST BEING TO GENERIC FOR ME.
Comment by kix guru — June 16, 2008 @ 4:16 pm
got these and the rest of the 3s that came out. Im a jordan fanatic, i try to buy all of them that come out there is no bad colorway to me….
Comment by james — June 16, 2008 @ 4:45 pm
I passed as well. I was never into the “Pure $” and “Black Cat” idea. I thought the Pure $ 4’s were pointless since the “Bling Blings” released in 2000 and the Black Cats were just way to plain.
This pair to me was the start of 2 or 3 months of a drought of good JB releases (unless you really love the XI LE).
Comment by Nice Kicks — June 16, 2008 @ 4:45 pm
Definetly copped, i LOVE these black cat III…way better than the IV’s…..its not the same as the cement but there not a replacement, they are just another good colorway
Comment by Mr. Dunk — June 16, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
Copped me…my girl …. and my sis a pair …really nice pair of kicks 4 the summer and back to school
Comment by sha2109 — June 16, 2008 @ 5:08 pm
i copped i love my black cats!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by retrokid — June 16, 2008 @ 5:10 pm
I would have copped but my money wasnt lookin right
Comment by kevinW — June 16, 2008 @ 5:37 pm
I copped, not on its release date but a few months later for cheap ($70). I love most of the 3’s so had to cop… of the 2006/2007 Retro 3’s, I got the Flips, Fire Reds, Pure$ and Black Cats. Gotta get those Cool Greys fa sho, but I will always pass on the DTRT unless they’re under $50
Comment by Chef Chris — June 16, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
i wish i had bought these, they probably gunna be the hotest all black jordans. And no 3’s came out in 2006
Comment by g-man — June 16, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
u already kno i jus got thru hoopin n them
Comment by g-money — June 16, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
I Copped but juz for the laces, the lacez are the flyest to come out with a shoe!!!
Comment by jwalkn247 — June 16, 2008 @ 7:18 pm
I LUV EM. I WORE EM TODAY B 4 I EVEN SAW THE POST.
Comment by IGOTTACOPTHAT — June 16, 2008 @ 7:32 pm
I got some for me and matching baby (for someday in the future)
Comment by lace — June 16, 2008 @ 7:43 pm
These R Hot much betta then the pures witch r still nice but i wud much rather cop the blackcats
Comment by ~JOE~ — June 16, 2008 @ 7:50 pm
weak
Comment by kicks dad — June 16, 2008 @ 7:56 pm
i copped these suckas and i still luv em. they go wit anything
Comment by ryan — June 16, 2008 @ 8:09 pm
i got pure money 3’s instead. i shoulda got dis too >.<
Comment by joshua — June 16, 2008 @ 8:18 pm
I copped 3 pair and had one pair customized…
Comment by russbheez — June 16, 2008 @ 8:22 pm
When I got this pair, I knew dey were sick but dey should come out wit more black cat retros.
Comment by Dynamic — June 16, 2008 @ 8:29 pm
I passed. My excuse was that I already had the Black Cat IV’s. I like them much better than these III’s. I did get the Fire Red III’s earlier though. They still look great.
Comment by D B — June 16, 2008 @ 8:31 pm
nol didnt buy…..i buy jordans because of the design and the fact that they usually have more than one color on the shoe…..so some jordans that were all black were pretty pointless 2 me……i would rather but sum all black or all white AF1s
Comment by FearGODnotthem — June 16, 2008 @ 8:34 pm
if i wanted all black i’da bought some Air Force 1’s
Comment by yung albino — June 16, 2008 @ 8:39 pm
other jordans do look good all black though
Comment by yung albino — June 16, 2008 @ 8:41 pm
I had to get them. The Tinker Hatfield template for the 3’s is just too crazy to pass up on any level. I don’t get the comparison between these and the black&grey 3’s…ppl went crazy when they saw the blk&red joints in that promo pic-and these were closest to that…the pure$’s too. All white 3’s-come on!Fresher than all white “ones” anyday. Keep passing-more for me.
Comment by BeyondCompare — June 16, 2008 @ 8:47 pm
i wasnt getting money then but i would have got them because you can wear these with anything,[virtually] so i had no choice but to pas.
Comment by sneakerhead3 — June 16, 2008 @ 10:29 pm
but you make a good point yung salbino, thats why im getting all black forces for school, unless i find a good price for the 6/17 package.
Comment by sneakerhead3 — June 16, 2008 @ 10:30 pm
passed but not because I wanted to. I regret it but if another opportunity comes then I’ll cop em no doubt
Comment by mooch — June 16, 2008 @ 10:38 pm
sneakerhead3,
What size are you? I have a size 11 XVII I could do without. Especially to a loyal Nice Kicks reader
Comment by Nice Kicks — June 16, 2008 @ 10:57 pm
2 freakin comments!! wow. that is crazy.
I have em, worn a few times. thought they were cooler than they really were/are. I got all the IIIs that came out, even the harbor blues. IIIs are great so had to scoop these too.
patent on em is a bit wack and overall a bit boring IMO but still nice
Comment by jibbycanoe — June 16, 2008 @ 10:59 pm
No patent would have made those soooooooooo coppable. The Pures with the elephant print laces looked way better!
Comment by MJSF — June 16, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
Come on now that was an easy pass especially with the BLACK CAT 4’s dropping previous to that, it was an EASY pass…plus the cement pattern just thru the whole thing off and adding the patent leather was SOOOOOOO unnnnnnneccessary!!
EASY PASS!!
Comment by D-Block — June 17, 2008 @ 12:04 am
Got them, never regreted it…
Comment by oldjumpman35 — June 17, 2008 @ 12:21 am
What’s DTRT?
Comment by oldjumpman35 — June 17, 2008 @ 12:25 am
I also have some 17s I could do with out. Size 12 if anyone is interested… email me at huski422@yahoo.com (deadstock by the way)
Comment by Jom — June 17, 2008 @ 12:29 am
What am I missing here, what the heck is the DTRT? I know what DMP is… And I know the OLNL pack, and the CDP that are out now, but the DTRT? Some of you are calling it crap..ok?!
But about these Black 3’s, I like them because there aren’t too many black J’s out there, since there have been so many awful colorways release by JORDAN BRAND on other J’s. Every time a new AIR JORDAN was released, I hoped a black one was made, let’s see, I have every black J (or with a little white on it like the 12’s and 13’s) except a black Jordan 1, oh wait, i do have the Jordan 1 retro black and blue, well, I guess I do have all of them, 1 thru 23…!
Comment by oldjumpman35 — June 17, 2008 @ 12:37 am
Jordan retro 1 black blue
Jordan retro 2 black chrome
Jordan retro 3 black cat
Jordan retro 4 black cat
Jordan retro 5 black silver red
Jordan retro 6 black infrared
Jordan retro 7 black playoffs
Jordan retro 8 black silver
Jordan retro 9 black olive
Jordan OG 10 black red
Jordan retro 11 black space jam
Jordan retro 12 black white playoffs
Jordan OG 13 black white plaoyffs
Jordan OG 14 and retros black last shots
Jordan OG 15 black red
Jordan OG 16 black red
Jordan OG 17 black chrome
Jordan OG 18 black suede blue
Jordan OG 19 black red
Jordan OG 20 black red
Jordan OG 21 black silver
Jordan OG 22 black red
and Jordan XX3 black red stealth
Black J’s aren’t so bad…!
Comment by oldjumpman35 — June 17, 2008 @ 12:49 am
I say Jordan Brand has made my needs…! What’s up with a black Jordan XX4? I’d get that too…!
Comment by oldjumpman35 — June 17, 2008 @ 12:52 am
didnt cop i like the og’s betta
Comment by Sneaker King — June 17, 2008 @ 5:39 am
these were da best J’s ever
Comment by lakers24 — June 17, 2008 @ 6:54 am
da
Comment by lakers24 — June 17, 2008 @ 6:55 am
passed. too little detail. need some type of color difference. at least with the pure $ you can look super clean.
Comment by johnny qb — June 17, 2008 @ 7:41 am
I got them the day they came out and hardly wore them. I like the shoe a lot but found it hard to wear them for some reason. I didn’t like how they looked on my feet so recently I sold them to my cousin and used the money to buy some mesh toe AM1s which I much prefer.
Comment by Swood — June 17, 2008 @ 8:05 am
oldjumpman35,
hot damn! I’d say you are def into the black Jordans. I am personally a fan of the Black/Chrome colorway on the II’s and the VIII’s. Call me nuts, but I think I would have liked the black cats more if they had a metallic element with either chrome or gun metal.
Comment by Nice Kicks — June 17, 2008 @ 8:54 am
NICEKICKS HOLLA AT ME ABOUT THAT PACKAGE…….LOL
Comment by 716'sfinest — June 17, 2008 @ 9:35 am
i passed, too plain for me. my brother got ‘em though and they raggedy as hell now. i hate to see J’s get treated like that. i wish i woulda got ‘em from him before they got trashed
Comment by marcus the great — June 17, 2008 @ 9:53 am
I’d actually really like to see them retro the Black/Grey/Red OG 9’s from 94. I’m not a huge fan of the 9’s (that was a bad year w/ out MJ in a Bulls uniform), but for some reason I’ve always liked those…would have been great playoff shoes.
Comment by Biggins — June 17, 2008 @ 10:52 am
THEY WERE ACTUALLY RELEASED IN 07 BUT YEA I DID COP
Comment by _frsh — June 17, 2008 @ 10:54 am
coped all the retro 3 releases a no brainer … i can sneak into the clubs in D.C. with my black cats since the dress codes are so strict
Comment by checkmyfeet — June 17, 2008 @ 11:32 am
@oldjumpman35: DTRT = Do the Right Thing. A series of shoes paying homage to Spike Lee’s movie. Every shoe used the a combination of the colors Blue/Green/Yellow/Red. Like The Blue/Green/Yellow III’s and White/Blue/Yellow/Red Spizike’s(the ones with the blue spots). Also a couple of DTRT team J’s.
Comment by Dj75728 — June 17, 2008 @ 12:17 pm
i didnt cop i mean they r nice but nothing special 4 me
Comment by greenmaker24 — June 17, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
Definately easy to pass on, I was in jail weels leading up to the release of the Fire Reds and made sure I kept telling my girlfriend and brother to make sure I got them just in case I was still locked up. Needless to say I got them Fire Reds but BLACK CATS weren’t good enuff.
Comment by retro3 — June 17, 2008 @ 1:10 pm
I can’t see you kids. Maybe it’s the fact I buy my J’s to wear… what’s better for wearing all the time then black/black? Do you guys clean your kicks? I do, nutting gets done faster than the black/blacks. I think it was JB’s gift to release the best 2 retros in the Black Cat color way. I could wear my IV’s & III’s every week if I wanted to. I have 2 pairs of black/red retro 3’s one for any time for all my 2006 gear & the other dead stock (size 9.5 still has the foot locker sticker on the box). But I’d love to see all the J’s retro’d in both color ways so i can wear em whenever & where ever I want. This is not a collectors colorway it’s a kick rocker’s colorway!
Big Dix T.O. weather survivor!
Comment by Dixon Syder — June 17, 2008 @ 2:26 pm
I passed on these Matt I still have my retro III’s in Black and the Grey cement in good condition. I am not one for a all black shoe.
Comment by Pastor Troy — June 17, 2008 @ 2:26 pm
these r hot kicks right here i got these but i really want those black/cement 3’s bring those back
Comment by Dubb — June 17, 2008 @ 2:49 pm
Wanted em but didn’t get em. Def dnt regret it. F**k fusions I’m waitin for those black cements.
Comment by tjholmes26 — June 17, 2008 @ 5:00 pm
personally i dont wear all black or All white Jays either.
I perfer original colors.
Your better off Gettn Low top All black Forces or other kinds.
Comment by Sammie Davis JR. — June 17, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
PASSED GOT THA PURES INSTEAD
Comment by JAMARIO — June 17, 2008 @ 6:10 pm
I grabbed the Pure$ that came out last year in May. I passed on the black cats.
Comment by irunthachi92 — June 17, 2008 @ 8:59 pm
passed
the fire reds is the best 3’s besides the tru blues and cements
Comment by Mike Buck — June 17, 2008 @ 9:33 pm
I passed. I didnt like the patent on the III. Just didnt make the shoe look original to me. Plus I copd the DTRT, FLIPS, & Cool Greys. Plus they had released the Black Cat IV like months before which I have so it really seemed like overkill.
Comment by quanvg — June 17, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
yupp i copped so fresh i luv’em
Comment by jake — June 17, 2008 @ 10:21 pm
Oh, DTRT are crap… and oh yeah, thanks Matt, from NICEKICKS
Comment by oldjumpman35 — June 18, 2008 @ 12:50 am
ALL YALL HATIN ON THESE TALKIN BOUT YALL PASSED ON EM KNOW DAMN WELL THAT IF THEY SLAPPED “NIKE AIR” ON THE BACK YALL WOULD GRAB EM UP LIKE HOTCAKES. IF YOU DONT BELIEVE ME YOU ALL ARE JUST KIDDING YOURSELVES!!
Comment by orthotic — June 18, 2008 @ 1:22 am
I GOT DEM HOES
Comment by J — June 18, 2008 @ 7:44 am
GOT EM
Comment by J — June 18, 2008 @ 7:45 am
Picked these up for sure! Wore for my wedding on 7/7/07. As did the whole wedding party from my pops, father in law all the way down the line to my 3 year old son!! Wife also wore the pures for the reception!
Comment by Mike from Oxnard — June 18, 2008 @ 11:21 am
copped
Comment by roberto — June 18, 2008 @ 2:44 pm
Copped just because they were in stores for a long while. Bad replica of a classic shoe. I have both the “black cats” and the “pures”. The only really good thing about these shoes is that they are one of the more comfortable pairs of J that i have in my closet. Comfort goes a long way for me
Comment by JGRAY — June 18, 2008 @ 3:15 pm
I COPPED THESE JUST BECUZ IM A AIR JORDAN ADDICT…WOREM A FEW TIMES LAST SUMMER…THEY DIDNT STAND OUT TOO MUCH BUT WHEN PEOPLE LOOK DOWN AND SEE THOSE ALL BLACK SHOES ARE JORDANS, THEY CANT TELL YOU GOT SWAGG…SUBTLE BUT STRONG!!
AJ ALL DAY ER DAY!!!
Comment by G SHOCKS AND JAYS — June 19, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
when i saw em, i grabbed em as soon as i saw dem. i still have em today. theyre tight
Comment by JC — June 19, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
Had to pass on these… patent leather mudguard, inferior suede quality when compared to the cool greys, and a plastic jumpman on the tongue to kill the shoe…theres just no coming back from that…i had to pass
Comment by Kacy — June 20, 2008 @ 8:58 am
yo i want theses kicks to restock asap !!!
Comment by David Torres — June 20, 2008 @ 10:26 am
waitin for the cement colorways so i passed still think they dope tho yo
Comment by shoehead — June 21, 2008 @ 8:08 am
they still available at http://www.bnyconline.com/
Comment by josh — June 22, 2008 @ 2:12 am
No way I wasn’t coppin these. Man, they tight!
Comment by Riley Martin Jr. — July 11, 2008 @ 11:09 pm