NIKE’s vintage air jordan 11 makes a comeback as sneakers made entirely of LEGO bricks

NIKE’s air jordan 11 becomes LEGO sneakers

NIKE’s Air Jordan 11 was first unveiled in 1995 and became sought-after sneakers in the game even before its big-screen debut in the animated classic Space Jam. Today, the iconic vintage sneaker returns to the spotlight as Hungarian designer Tamás Borján stacks up LEGO bricks to recreate NIKE’s Air Jordan 11. Working under Tomasso Builds, Tamás Borján even presented his own take on the playable LEGO replica of the pioneer console CDJ 2000. Noting his fascination with LEGO, it may not be a surprise that he was able to put his time and dedication into recreating Michael Jordan’s signature sneakers.

Tamás Borján meticulously followed the details of NIKE’s Air Jordan 11 sneakers, from the waves of black, white, and gold lines at the bottom part of the sneakers to the laces and the upper surface of the sports shoes (photo reference at the end of the story). He knows that other LEGO fans have attempted to recreate the Air Jordan 11 sneakers, but he still wanted to put his own spin on it. ‘I wanted to follow the original design as much as possible, so I tried to keep it as faithful as LEGO bricks could make me do. I also made it in the same size and dimensions as LEGO’s official Adidas Superstar set,’ he says.

images by Tamás Borján

collector’s edition of vintage kicks for display

It helps that Tamás Borján, under the moniker Tomasso Builds, is a big fan of NIKE’s Air Jordan 11 sneakers. He says he has always wanted to build it using LEGO bricks, and when he was given the blocks and time to do so, he followed through. NIKE may celebrate Air Jordan 11’s 30th anniversary in 2025, but Tamás Borján might already be one step ahead when he recreated the shoes for LEGO and Michael Jordan fans. From a wearable pair of sneakers, the vintage kicks have become a seemingly collector’s edition of an iconic archived design meant to be displayed.

Before recreating Air Jordan 11 with LEGO bricks, Tamás Borján looked into its history and discovered that ‘it was first introduced to the public by Michael Jordan, who wore it in the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals and throughout the entire 95-96 regular season. He loved it so much that he wore it way before Nike wanted him to. This model is his favorite one from the whole product line,’ he explains in his LEGO project that can be voted on by the public.

It did not escape his notice that the sneaker’s design was very different from earlier models, with never-before-seen lines and recognizable shapes. In his way, Tamás Borján not only pays homage to an archived design but also brings back the memento of the past in a playful, LEGO way.

Tamás Borján meticulously followed the details of NIKE’s Air Jordan 11 sneakers