The Best Air Jordans of 2020 (So Far)

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Michael Jordan the man was a distant idea for much of the past decade. For a good chunk of that time he was a meme, a crying head jpeg to be spliced into an infinite number of appropriate situations. People who remember watching him actually play basketball lamented in the same span that, to kids today, he's merely a guy who sells sneakers. The line of thinking went that kids buying his retros might not have any idea what he actually did or why they're important. In 2020, that all changed. Michael Jordan the basketball player came back.

No, he didn't emerge from retirement for a fourth time. Rather, his career of dominance came back via The Last Dance, an ESPN series chronicling Jordan's final season with the Chicago Bulls. And you can't have Jordan without Jordans—his return to primetime meant a renewed interest on his sneakers, primarily via the resell market, where prices on old pairs crept up as they appeared in the series. They had to fight through a retail environment slowed by the novel coronavirus, but 2020 has already seen a number of impressive Air Jordan releases. Jordan is back, although, Jordans never went anywhere. These are the 10 best Air Jordans of 2020 (so far).

11.Air Jordan 1 High 85 'Varsity Red'

Shape matters. The Air Jordan 1 is a shoe that's flucuated in its silhouette since its first release in 1985. 1994 pairs are different than 2001, which aren't the same as 2013, and so on and so on. Collectors want to see shoes in their truest form and Jordan Brand finally went back to the archives to achieve that with this Air Jordan 1. This could have been a homerun shoe, but Jordan released it an awkward reverse "Black/Red" colorway, opposite of the original design. So close, yet so far. —Matt Welty

10.Air Jordan III 'Nike Chi'

Sometimes the best thing to do is the most obvious—it just needs the right time and place to tie things together. The execution, concept, and story behing the "Chicago" Air Jordan III is so simple. Take the Air Jordan III, which Michael Jordan made famous leaping from the free-throw line in the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, make it in red, and put "Chi" on the heel and you have a future classic. Release them at All-Star Weekend and you have an even better storyline for consumers. They were overshadowded by the Off-White x Air Jordan Vs that weekend, but it doesn't make the shoes any less great. —Matt Welty

9.Melody Ehsani x Women's Air Jordan OG

A casual trip through the women's section at any sneaker boutique reveals just how much work brands still need to do in creating shoes specifically for them. Jordan Brand has done a fine job of it in recent years, creating coveted colorways just for women and extending the size runs so those offerings are more inclusive. This year, the brand looked into its catalog and brought back its first-ever women's-specific shoe, the aptly named Women's Air Jordan OG. The shoe has shined brightest with the help of collaborator Melody Ehsani, who outfitted it with this black and red colorway. It's strikes a mature balance, temperate in its Bulls-leaning color choices and feminine via the cherry dubrae. —Brendan Dunne

8.Air Jordan III 'UNC'

Serving as yet another nod to Michael Jordan's National Championship winning days at Chapel Hill, the "UNC" IIIs received quite a bit of excitement when they dropped. Stripped of their official UNC branding, this drop seems to have started a trend of the Jordan Brand dipping into their deep player exclusive well and releasing a GR version of sorts. While the UNCs are certainly not an original colorway and come devoid of the oft-preferred Nike Air branding, they still managed to sell out on release day and become one of the most popular retro drops of 2020 so far. —Ben Felderstein

7.Air Jordan IV 'Black Cat'

There’s a strange phenomenon in the sneaker community where people will make cases for certain shoes to be re-released—sometimes going as far as to create petitions in hopes of grabbing the brand’s attention—only for the sneakers to eventually retro and end up sitting on shelves. Just look at 2018’s “Mocha” Air Jordan III or last year’s “Cool Grey” IVs as an example. After being away from stores since its first appearance in 2006, this year’s “Black Cat” Air Jordan IV could have very well experienced a similar fate. It was one of those sneakers that received a flood of Instagram comments like “must-cop” and “two pairs minimum” and come release day, people actually lived up to their word. While it may not have flown off the shelf like an original colorway would, the “Black Cat” IV did well at retail and gave those who’d been holding out exactly what they were waiting for. The stealthy retros maintained all of the details that made the 2006 pair so beloved (aside from the absence of hidden “Black Cat” embroidery on the inner heel tab) and, perhaps best of all, were reasonably attainable at retail for those who really wanted them. —Riley Jones

6.Air Jordan XIII 'Flint'

Backed by a SNKRS App Shock Drop during the last night of The Last Dance, the return of the "Flint" Jordan XIIIs was met with expectedly open arms. The "Flint" was the first original colorway of the XIII to not bear the signature colorway of the Chicago Bulls upon its original release. It was immediately adored when it first dropped in '98 and only continued growing favor as a retro. As you'll see with a number of other sneakers on this mid-year list, most of the time when Jordan Brand opts to bring back a hallowed original colorway, fans are eager to add them to their collection, whether again or for the first time. —Ben Felderstein

5.Air Jordan 'New Beginnings' Pack

The legend of the banned Air Jordan 1 began all the way back in 1985, and finally, 35 years later, the brand officially acknowledged that it didn’t exactly happen that way—kinda. It wasn’t the “banned” colorway, and it didn’t outright say it, but by packaging the Air Ship, an otherwise unremarkable sneaker from a bygone era with the Air Jordan 1, the connection was solidified in product form. Die hard fans may not have envisioned this going down via obscure PE colorways of the two shoes rather than the black and red variations that were actually part of the storyline, but at least it was finally an admission of sorts that it was really the Air Ship that was banned by the NBA, rather than the Air Jordan 1. —Zac Dubasik

4.Air Jordan V 'Fire Red'

The “Fire Red” Air Jordan V has been retroed a handful of times; first in 1999 with its original “Nike Air” branding, then with Jumpman-adorned iterations in 2008 as part of the brand’s Countdown Pack series, and once again in 2013. For 2020—the Air Jordan V’s 30th anniversary—Jordan Brand dipped into the vault one more time and brought back the colorway worn by MJ while he dropped a career-high 69 points on the Cavs. This time around, the reflective tongue sneaker was closer to the OG than it had been since 1999, with 2020’s version sporting the welcome return of Nike Air. Other details such as shape and materials have been picked apart endlessly on social media (as always), but the fact remains that this pair is one of the most important Air Jordans of all time. If you’re looking to make a major come up on the resale market, this probably isn’t the shoe for you, but if you want a true piece of history, it is absolutely worth seeking out. —Riley Jones

3.Air Jordan VI 'DMP'

The Defining Moments Package ushered in a new concept for Air Jordans when it dropped in 2006: the multi-sneaker release. More shoes meant the chance for richer storytelling, and this inaugural set honored the two sneakers worn (the Air Jordan VI and Air Jordan XI) for the first NBA Championships in Michael Jordan’s respective three-peats. Some fans would have undoubtedly preferred the XI return if only one from the set was coming back, but with 2018’s similarly colored “Concord” XIs so recent, it was unsurprising that the VI got the nod. The simple black and gold colorway remains wearable in 2020, and was an easy sell to fans both new and old. It may not have the clout of an OG colorway, but the DMP VI has its own history that helped mark a new era for sneaker culture. —Zac Dubasik

2.Off-White x Air Jordan V

Entering 2020, it appeared that the Off-White x Nike hype train was losing a bit of steam. While still solid in their own right, post-“The Ten” collabs like the Waffle Racer and Vapor Street were not met with as much enthusiasm. While his trio of Dunk Lows in late 2019 restored the feeling a little bit, Virgil Abloh’s Air Jordan V collab for NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago garnered the attention we had come expect from the designer’s work. Abloh tweaked Michael Jordan’s fifth signature sneaker with a ripstop upper, deconstructed liner for added casual appeal, and various circles placed around the shoe that could be cut out at the wearer’s discretion. Even though the V is three decades old, Abloh made it feel new, while still paying proper homage to the history it possesses. Alternate white laces, for instance, are a great touch that nodded to the preferred styling worn by MJ in the playoffs back in the day.

It seemed to be a passion project of sorts for Abloh, who proclaimed the Vs were his first Air Jordan and the Jumpman was his Superman logo growing up as a kid in Chicago in the '90s. He even struck the iconic pose on his own in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was a reminder just how great Abloh is at recreating classics. Not only is it the best Air Jordan of 2020 thus far, it is also easily a contender for the best sneaker we have seen all year. Abloh joked that everyone thought Vs were “wack” now. Well, he certainly helped reverse the narrative. —Mike DeStefano

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