With the NBA Finals just behind us and the offseason bringing sadness to the hearts of NBA fans, sneakerheads will have a chance to reminisce about one of the greatest all-time Finals moments from the greatest player of all time. The Chicago Bulls' Game 5 victory in the 1997 NBA Finals will live in lore forever and Michael Jordan's famed sneakers from the game will be seeing a retro release come 2025.

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Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals is widely known as the “flu game” due to Michael Jordan's compromised health heading into the game. We'll never really know whether someone poisoned a pizza on that fateful night in Salt Lake City, but we do know that MJ scored 38 points in the game and led the Bulls to the win. Famously needing help off the court from Scottie Pippen, his Air Jordan 12 sneakers later became known as the Flu Game's.

The Air Jordan 12 was originally released in the Black/Red colorway in 1997 and worn by Michael Jordan throughout much of the Bulls' championship run. The “Flu Game” colorway has been retroed three times since its original release, the most recent coming in 2016. After initial rumors and a reported cancellation, sneaker sources @SneakerFiles and @zsneakerheadz confirmed that the newest Air Jordan 12 retro will be set to drop in 2025.

The Air Jordan 12 features a tumbled leather upper made to resemble that of a rising sun. The toe guard of the upper, midsole, and outsole are featured in Varsity Red while the rest of the uppers, tongue, and midsole are painted black. On the heel, we see a Jordan Jumpman tag along with “23” embossed into the rubber outsole. The laces come in black and the shoe is finished by a red Jumpman logo on the tongue.

Coming in different iterations like the “Cherry” and “Taxi” colorways, the “Flu Game” remains a classic and a must-have for sneakerheads solely for their historical context. They also match perfectly with the Chicago Bulls' uniforms and the iconic black/red combination was always a favorite for Jordan on the court.

The “Flu Game” Air Jordan 12 is expected to release Spring 2025 and should come with a retail tag of $200, standard for most retros coming out nowadays. They'll be made available on Nike SNKRS App and are expected to come in full family sizing with adjusted pricing. All in all, these are a must-cop in our opinion and should be in the collection of every Jordan fanatic.

Mark your calendars and keep up with our Sneakers news for more updates on when we'll see these drop!