Sole Collector Presents the Best Air Jordan of Every Year
Air Jordan, Air Jordan, Air Jordan. Money, money, it’s gotta be the shoes. Michael Jordan is the still the Greatest of All Time as a basketball player, a shoe brand, and even in the war of emoji. Years after hanging up his Air Jordans on court, the brand still dominates the kicks market with new models, retro-ed old models, and fresh colorways. But of all of these, which are the best Air Jordans released in that year? Yes, the best from all the Jordans released within the 365-day calendar year.
How do you decide? How do you pick from the colorways? Luckily for you and me, the kicks diehards over at Sole Collector took it to the rack and delivered this slam identifying the Best Air Jordan of Every Year. Let’s take a look…
1985 Air Jordan 1 “Bred”
These began the legend. No doubt.
1986 Air Jordan 1 KO “Chicago”
What??? I’m ashamed to say I’d never heard of the canvas AJ1 KO. Quick misdirection. Did I ever mention my pair of all white AJ1s were stolen?
1987 Air Jordan 2 White/Black
Sorry, I’ve never been a fan of the 2’s. Yeah, Nike tried to be different with the sophomore model but these just didn’t and still don’t appeal to me.
1988 Air Jordan 3 “Black Cement”
All is forgiven with the release of the AJ3, especially the Black Cement model. When these are re-retroed in the future, I’ll give it a shot and see if I can find a pair.
1989 Air Jordan 4 “White Cement”
I also had the AJ4…in a whopping size 10.5. This is back in the day when I wore 9.5. I guess I wasn’t about to be denied by a whole size difference. Sadly, that back tab made the shoe really uncomfortable, digging into the back of my heel. The leatherized tab on the AJ4 Retro Legend Blue is a welcomed change.
1990 Air Jordan 5 “Grape”
Oddly, I remembering seeing (and coveting) these kicks years later in 1994 or 1995 while in college. A fellow student wore’em while I woo’ed’em (the shoes, not the student).
1991 Air Jordan 6 “Infrared”
I never owned a pair of AJ6. I didn’t dislike them, but they just didn’t call to me. However, if I came across a pair of the revamped AJ6 Low, I won’t have the willpower to resist.
1992 Air Jordan 7 “Olympic”
The Dream Team indeed lived up to expectations, but the AJ7 Olympic makeup didn’t meet my expectations.
1993 Air Jordan 8 “Aqua”
I owned the black, white, and grey colorway, finding a pair at Foot Locker right before touring Italy and Greece. Yeah, that was me rocking the AJ8 in the Colosseum (and next to a Smart Car).
1994 Air Jordan 10 “Steel”
I still can’t make up my mind on the AJ10. I like them; I don’t like them; I just don’t know. Kinda basic except for the alternating colors.
1995 Air Jordan 11 “Concord”
These Jordans are the GOAT. Greatest.of.all.time. The Concords started it all. I was so, so fortunate to nab a pair online when Nike retroed them in 2012.
1996 Air Jordan 12 “Taxi”
When I missed out on the OG run of the AJ11, I felt compelled to get the AJ12. But I didn’t. The 12’s were definitely popular, but I just didn’t dig them. Although this is the first Jordan I really recall seeing on the feet of female kicks collectors.
1997 Air Jordan 12 “Flu Game”
Yup, this red and black colorway of the AJ12 was what I remember being popular with the ladies.
1998 Air Jordan 13 “Bred”
I prefer the lightness of the original AJ13 colorway, and I remember running the courts in Aiea in the AJ13.
1999 Air Jordan 14 “Last Shot”
Um no, just no.
2000 Air Jordan 11 Retro “Space Jam”
Just stop at Air Jordan 11. Any colorway, any time, instant sellout.
2001 Air Jordan 11 Retro “Cool Grey”
Such memories of UH basketball standout Carl English dominating in these.
2002 Air Jordan 17 “College Blue”
Heh, I would be hard pressed to identify the AJ17 as an authentic Air Jordan, thinking these might be some sort of Jumpman instead.
2003 Air Jordan 3 Retro “White Cement”
Lesson here is to never pass up a chance to purchase an AJ3.
2004 Air Jordan 7 Retro “Olympic”
The AJ7 Olympic makes the list for a second time, and for a second time, I don’t go for these.
2005 Air Jordan 13 Retro “Altitude”
A non-Jordanesque green makes an appearance.
2006 Air Jordan 6 & 11 Retro “Defining Moments”
Here begins the two-shoe packs. The gold highlight looks better on the 6 than the 11 in my opinion.
2007 Air Jordan 8 Retro “Aqua”
The 8 in aqua makes a reappearance, and I still own my black, white, and grey colorway. Yes, really.
2008 Air Jordan XX3 “Titanium”
The environmental Air Jordan in the Titanium colorway wasn’t available in Hawaii.
2009 Air Jordan 11 Retro “Space Jam”
I still covet the AJ11 Space Jam, and so do you.
2010 Air Jordan 9 Retro Premio “Bin23”
Were these the Warren Sapp models? I don’t remember these premium Jordans.
2011 Air Jordan 1 Retro High “Banned”
The genesis AJ1 keeps on going.
2012 Air Jordan 11 Retro “Bred”
The AJ11 Bred are nasty on and off the court.
2013 Air Jordan 3 Retro ’88 “White Cement”
Harken back to 1998 as His Airness (in the AJ3) went up against the Human Highlight Film in the Slam Dunk contest.
2014 fragment x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG
I don’t understand the craziness over this collaboration with fragment. Yeah, the AJ1 looks cool in blue, and that’s all I’ll say.
2015 Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Chicago”
At mid-2015, we’ve come full circle with the Air Jordan 1 making yet another popular appearance.
And there it is. Thirty years of Air Jordans. Thirty years. Money, money, it’s gotta be the shoes. Does it feel like the Jordan brand is slowing down? Not at all. In fact, with new models, retros, and collaborations, it’s hard to keep up with the Jordan lineup. Luckily, SoleCollector tracks all the releases of Jordans so you know when and where you can get your fix.
A special shout out to Aleks for tuning me into SoleCollector’s The Best Air Jordan of Every Year.