The Air Force 1 was the first basketball sneaker Bruce Kilgore designed and marked the beginning of using airbag technology in a basketball shoe. The original rollout of the sneaker saw six of the top NBA basketball players at the time, including Michael Cooper, Bobby Jones, Moses Malone, donning the new silhouette in its initial high top variant.
AF1 had already transcended the basketball court. Taking its place within streetwear and hip-hop culture during the early 2000s, where the shoe has stayed to this day.
Following the creation of the world-famous Air Force 1, Kilgore went on to design a number of tennis shoes including the Nike Air Ace, the Air Pressure, and in 1986, alongside Air Jordan 1 designer Peter Moore, the Air Jordan 2.