The Air Jordan 3 released in 1988 was the first pair of Jordan shoes to use the Jumpman logo, replacing the wings logo in the 1st and 2nd generations. This Jumpman Logo was originally used as a silhouette of Jordan's 1984 Olympics photo shoot for "LIFE" magazine. In a 1997 interview with "HOOP" magazine, Jordan recalled the process: "I wasn't dunking at all (when the photo was taken). People thought I was dunking. I was actually standing on the ground, then jumped up and spread my legs and they I caught this shot. I wasn’t even running, people thought I was running and then jumping to take the shot. In fact, it was a ballet move to spread my legs. I just did that and then grabbed it with my left hand. Basketball." Later, Jordan's silhouette in this photo was used as the logo.

Later, Nike's chief designer Peter Moore also tried to persuade Jordan to leave Nike and join his new company called Van Grack, but Tinker Hatfield still retained Jordan through design, and the logo has since become a classic.