Air Jordan 12 “Black Tongue Taxi” Sample

Situated so close to where all the magic happens, Portland-based Index manages to get their hands on some super-rare samples and unreleased goods from Nike and Jordan Brand. These scarce sneakers are often coveted by the world’s most ambitious collections, and many times the uncommons that Index reveals on their Instagram typically gets scooped up in minutes. Case in point: the “Bronze Cough Drop” Foamposite sample sold within minutes of going live on their social.

Up next from Index is an unreleased sample of the Air Jordan 12 closely related to the iconic OG “Taxi” edition. These are marked as a Wear Test sample, which usually means the shoes were created to text out materials for durability and general wear and tear. In this case, the shoes are absolutely pristine and brand new and somehow this new size 13 is still available on their website here.

A quick side-by-side comparison reveals that although the sample shares a similar white leather upper with the black reptile-skin covered mudguard, there are significant discrepancies with the color-blocking. The heel portion of the midsole is painted black, the shoelaces are swapped to black, the eyelets are silver, and the tongue is entirely black. The Jumpman on the tongue is red, while the OG Taxi features it in black. The most obvious omission is the “Taxi” yellow hit on the heel-stripe, carbon fiber plate, and fore-foot detail.

According to Index co-founder Terrance Ricketts, these are one of two Wear Test samples from 2010 that came about. The other is all-black as pictured below. That pair became part of his personal collection and is currently not for sale. The actual Air Jordan 12 “Taxi” is confirmed to return to stores in November 2025; see our Jordan Release Dates page for full updates.