Rui Hachimura x Jordan: Where to buy, release date, price, and more explored about the Black Samurai collection

Washington Wizards' power forward Rui Hachimura collaborated with the Jordan brand for a Black Samurai collection which offers both apparel and footwear pieces. The Rui Hachimura x Jordan Black Samurai collection was released on Nike SNKRS on May 23, 2022.

Rui Hachimura made history in 2019 by being the first Japanese player to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft, and ever since, Jordan has been in support of the player. For 2022, the dynamic duo released a Black Samurai collection, which offers a 4-piece apparel line alongside a 2-piece footwear capsule.

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More about the newly released Rui Hachimura x Jordan Black Samurai collection

Rui Hachimura x Jordan Black Samurai's Air Jordan 8 (left)/Jordan Series SE (right) (Image via Nike)

The Black Samurai collection marks the first full collaborative collection between the Japanese Olympic player and Jumpman. Introducing the collaboration between the Player and Jumpman, Nike's site adds a small introduction for the player,

"Step into Rui's world. Born in Japan with Benin heritage, Rui Hachimura grew up with all the challenges that come with living as biracial in a homogeneous culture. When he immigrated to the United States, Rui became inspired by the range of American culture and really began thriving in finding his own identity."

The site further explains the inspiration behind the collection,

"Now, through sharing his journey from Japan to America to the league, he wants to empower others to find themselves; find pride and hope within their differences.".

The collaborative collection's first offering is an Air Jordan 8 silhouette. The Air Jordan 8 Black Samurai is dressed in Twine/Gym Red/Black/Sesame colorway. The pair marks Hachimura's first retro collaboration, and the detailing on the shoes is heavily affiliated to his Japanese heritage.

"The Air Jordan 8 "Black Samurai" features textured Twine-colored suede inspired by Japanese textile craft, special insole graphics, and Japanese characters on the tongue and inside label to help connect yourself to Rui's story."

The sneakers' uppers are constructed in a blend of leather and suede materials, which are covered in twine hue. The leather material acts as the silhouette's traditional overlays and straps that come treated with a tonal distressed pattern.

The tongue and collar windows of the sneakers feature a tile-like debossing. The tongue is marked with Hachimura's moniker "H" logo. Personal details are further seen upon the shoe's sockliners, which accentuates an illustration of Hachimura dunking over two defenders.

The sneakers come packaged in a custom shoe box that features striking artwork showing cherry blossom trees and basketballs. The Air Jordan 8 Black Samurai sneakers were released on Nike for a retail price of $225.

The second offering from Rui Hachimura x Jordan Black Samurai collection is the Jordan Series SE 01 Black Samurai. The Jordan Series SE Black Samurai shoes are dressed in Black / Gym Red / Sesame colorways. The lifestyle sneakers are a nod to Hachimura's Japanese culture. The product description on Nike's site reads,

"The Jordan Series "Black Samurai" features Japanese-inspired textured textiles, special insole graphics, and a Black and Gym Red makeup to help connect yourself to Rui's story."

The shoe's uppers are constructed in suede and synthetic leather materials. Most of the shoes are dressed in a dark arrangement, as opposed to the aforementioned Air Jordan 8 pair.

The Jordan SE 01 pair pays homage to Hachimura's Japanese heritage throughout the shoes with different details, such as, the "Dear Rui" detailing, seen on the lateral side of the shoe's midfoot, where "Rui" is written in the Japanese Kanji script. The Kanji script further appears on the tongue labels' rear.

More Japanese-inspired detailing can be seen on the insoles, where a handful of art and illustrations appear alongside Hachimura's "H" logo and basketball motif. Hachimura's "H" moniker logo is also featured over the labyrinth-like patterned tongue in ruby color.

Rui Hachimura x Jordan Black Samurai Crewnecks (Image via Nike)

The Black Samurai apparel collection offers two t-shirt choices and two crewneck choices in black and white colorway each. Nike's site introduced the Black Samurai collection,

"Bring the heat in this cozy apparel collection, with graphics and details inspired by Rui Hachimura. Rui is the first Japanese player to be picked in Round 1 of the NBA draft, opening the door for more athletes to follow. The Kanji-inspired logo was designed by his mother, honoring the family name and Rui’s spirit on the court."

The crewnecks from the collection are designed in a simplistic monotone pattern. The front right side of the crew features Hachimura's "H" logo with the Jordan Jumpman logo beneath it. The crewnecks come in black and white colors for $65.

The t-shirts from the collection are designed in a bold pattern, with the bottom half being dressed in flames motif in orange and pink colors. The "H" moniker and the Jumpman logo is featured on the front right side of the tee. T-shirts from the Black Samurai collection can be availed for $35.