The Nike air jordan 16 shoes was released in 2001. Following the success of the Air Jordan 15 (XV), there was no doubt that Nike/JB would continue to release Air Jordan’s. The Nike air jordan 16 shoes were designed by Nike’s Senior Footwear Designer Wilson Smith. This meant it was the first design since the Nike air jordan 16 shoes that Tinker Hatfield wasn’t behind. Hatfield was said to have moved up and he left Smith with the hard task in creating a revolutionary new design. Smith decided to bring in a few design elements/fabrics from earlier releases.