Just hours after letting the word out on the sneaker through its official channels, Jordan Brand hosted an exclusive look at the Air Jordan 40 in an indoor basketball facility in North Brooklyn. With most of the lights turned off, save for a pervasive red glow and carefully placed spotlights, the space provided the opportunity to see the 39 previous Air Jordans lined up before the Air Jordan 40 became the focal point.

Jordan Brand athletes Paolo Banchero and Trae Young took to the stage for a brief panel, in which the young Orlando Magic star let loose the existence of a “Ferrari” Air Jordan 40 player-exclusive colorway that he’s looking forward to donning on the court. Leo Chang, senior creative director of sport for the company, also walked through the shoe’s tech with the individual components to showcase Nike Inc.’s first-of-its-kind combination of a full-length Zoom Strobel and full-length ZoomX midsole, as well as the numerous details inspired by seven previous Air Jordans.

Sarah Mensah, president of Jordan Brand, was also on site and took time to speak with Footwear News on 40 years of Air Jordans, balancing the celebration of the Air Jordan 1 with the introduction of the Air Jordan 40 and what she sees in the future for the house that Michael Jordan built.

Up until now, the Air Jordan 1 has really felt like the focal point for the brand this year. And now comes the Air Jordan 40. How do you maintain the right balance between the past and future?

It is a balance. The thing that I think is so incredible is that the brand is really founded on stories, and the great stories of the past are still so relevant in the future. We’re going to tell the “Shattered Backboard” story in fall, but we’ll tell it to a new generation, and we’ll make it relevant to the way the new generation is thinking about what it means to defy expectations and come out of nowhere and do things that you never thought possible. These are still relevant themes for people today, so I think that the power of balancing the past and celebrating the future has to do with our commitment to continuing to tell stories.

So what would you say the story is for the Air Jordan 40?

The 40 is really going to be about the future. It’s about innovation. It’s about excellence. It’s about making sure that Jordan reclaims its rightful place as the pinnacle of innovation, hopefully not just innovation of performance but also innovation of style. So it sits at the fulcrum of what it means to be innovative in terms of style and performance on the court — that was really always the thing and continues to be. It’s going to need to continue to be what Jordan Brand stands for.

Since you say reclaim, is there a sense that the Air Jordan 40 is, if not a relaunch, a sort-of new jumping-off point?

It’s 40 years, so we sat back as a team and said: “As we celebrate 40 incredible years, and the brand has been a rocket over those 40 years, what are the next 40 years going to be? How do we use this moment to help that multiple generations that are still having such interest and connection with this brand understand and get excited about what the next 40 years can hold?”

You also touched on style, and I think we’ve really seen the lifestyle appeal diminish across the modern basketball space. Has there been a cognizant effort to change that?

The blueprint is right there in the past and will apply into the future. MJ is really the first one who transcended just basketball and basketball shoes being about basketball. Thanks to MJ, basketball shoes became as much about off-court as they were on the court. In other words, people who were inspired by what he represented and what he was doing on the court wanted to rock those shoes, regardless of whether they were really playing basketball.

That’s absolutely the sweet spot. We want to absolutely stand for excellence and innovation and have the very best. We also want to stand for the most impossibly elegant style, and that’s the sweet spot. It’s where style and culture meets performance, that’s the essence of Jordan design.

Whether it’s the near future or 40 years down the road, what do you see going forward for Jordan Brand?

We used to talk about the fact that this new generation didn’t see MJ play as a challenge. Now we see it as an opportunity, because it gives us the opportunity to not necessarily ground ourselves singularly in basketball. Now, if I’m a young kid and I understand I want to take my game to another level, it doesn’t matter if I play global football, American baseball or golfing. It doesn’t matter if I want to be a race car driver. I know that by interacting with and representing Jordan Brand, it just means I want to be excellent. I want to take my game to the highest level. So I’m excited about what the business opportunity is in that, that we can now stand for excellence in all sports.

As an Eagles fan, I have to say you have a great example there in Jalen Hurts.

How amazing was that? Jalen Hurts is a perfect example because I can’t think of anyone who represents the spirit of MJ and the brand in future form, in today’s form.

You’ve even got the great symmetry of the hoop earring. What about Paolo Banchero and Trae Young, who are here today, what do they bring to the table?

I’ve been talking about it as body, mind and spirit. Both of these guys bring a physicality to their game that’s unmatched, so that has to be a central component of what it means to be a Jordan athlete. But they also have a mentality that’s similar to MJ’s, which means we’re going to overcome, we’re going to prove doubters wrong, we’re going to absolutely play with a level of intensity and ability that shocks the world. I love that about both of these players and their games. And then the last one is spirit, which is about heart. That’s something we don’t talk about enough, but at the end of the day, much of what has made and continues to make MJ great is his heart to win. It’s being able to play through adversity and achieve things no one thought possible. So these are the perfect athletes to embody all of that moving forward.