The Air Jordan 4 is in the pantheon of the greatest Air Jordans ever released. Michael Jordan’s fourth signature sneaker, which was the second Air Jordan designed by the legendary Tinker Hatfield, features a perfect combination of cultural impact, on-court moments, and great colorways.
We already have a list breaking down the best colorways to release in its lifespan, but this list is about the pairs that never made it to retail. This includes friends-and-family exclusives from Jordan Brand’s top collaborators like Travis Scott, Drake, and the late Virgil Abloh, to styles made for its sponsored collegiate programs and marquee athletes.
With the rumors of the coveted “Encore” Eminem x Air Jordan 4 hitting retail for the first time in 2027, we’re taking a look at the best Air Jordan 4s that never released.
Shop Nike and explore the Sneakers collection on Complex
Air Jordan 4 ‘UNC’
Year: 2012
We could have included any number of college PEs on this list—teams like Michigan, Georgetown, Florida, and Oregon have all had their share of memorable pairs we’d love to get our hands on. But at risk of this whole list of the best Air Jordan 4s that never released becoming only NCAA teams, we’ve limited it to one. And the most iconic of this whole genre is this argyle-adorned UNC pair from 2012. Long before Jordan Brand was releasing homages to these university exclusives, you had to be a player, a coach, or have exceptionally deep pockets to score a pair. —Zac Dubasik
Air Jordan 4 ‘First Class’
Year: 2023
The WNBA is bigger than ever right now, and we’re seeing more of its athletes make a real impact in the footwear space because of it. This Air Jordan 4 was a celebration of the women who helped lay the foundation for that growth. The “First Class” Air Jordan 4 was made exclusively for WNBA players, with multiple shades of green across the upper, gold accents, and a diamond detail embellished into the Jumpman logo. It’s one of those pairs that looks effortless but I’m sure there was a lot of effort behind the making of it. Quiet luxury exists in sneakers too, and this is probably one of the best examples of it. It’s definitely a pair I think a lot of people would love to see get a proper release someday. —Douglas Jase
Travis Scott x Air Jordan 4 ‘Mocha’
Year: 2017
Travis Scott’s brown-based Air Jordan 4 PE likely would have ranked higher if it weren’t for Jordan Brand releasing the similar “Cave Stone” Air Jordan 4 in 2025. But that doesn’t mean it’s not still one of the best Air Jordan 4s that never released. This 2017 friends and family exclusive includes unique detailing like a premium mocha upper, tortoise shell lace tabs, and a leather lining. It’s not only one of the best unreleased Air Jordan 4s, it’s one of Travis Scott’s best Air Jordan collabs too. —Zac Dubasik
Eminem x Carhartt x Air Jordan 4
Year: 2015
Everyone has their own reason for loving this sneaker, but personally, one of my favorite moments involving it didn’t even have anything to do with Em. It was Jimmy Butler playing a full NBA game in somebody’s grail. Jokes aside, I think the biggest reason this shoe works is the intentionality behind it. Eminem is from Detroit, Carhartt is a Michigan brand, and that connection makes the collaboration feel natural. The original pairs were gifted to Eminem’s friends and family, then an additional 10 got made for an Ebay charity auction for the Marshall Mathers Foundation. The auction ended up raising $227,000 for Michigan State University’s Community Music School. Workwear has become a major style globally, but in the Midwest, it was never really a trend to begin with. It’s always just been part of the culture. Now, with Carhartt WIP more popular than ever and so many big names wearing the brand, I’d love to see Carhartt get its own Jordan collaborations the way Levi’s has. —Douglas Jase
Air Jordan 4 ‘Splatter’
Year: 2017
Unlike most of the other Air Jordan 4s that never released on this list, the “Splatter” AJ4 has history that dates back to the very beginning. Samples of this design were created during the model’s original run in 1989, and existed only through a few pictures that have circulated on forums and social media since. The sneaker got a second life in 2017 though when an also-unreleased OVO collaboration brought the concept back. Why OVO? That's a fair question with seemingly no answer, but we'd take a release of this OG sample any way we could get it. —Zac Dubasik
Air Jordan 4 ‘Olympic Laser’
Year: 2008
It goes without saying that fans would love to see every pair on this list to release at some point. For me personally, it’s Carmelo Anthony’s “Laser” Jordan 4 PEs made for him participating in the 2008 Summer Olympics that I’d most want. The sneaker was dressed in a patriotic red, white, and blue makeup with gold laser-etched details across the upper. Behind the tongue were the Olympics’ commencement date and the USA Basketball logo, with a patch of the US flag on the insoles. —Victor Deng
Wahlburgers x Air Jordan 4
Year: 2018
Every time I think about the “Wahlburger” Air Jordan 4s, I remember Mark Wahlberg’s son sitting courtside at an NBA game in his pair. The “Wahlburger” 4s were made in celebration of the Wahlburger restaurant’s opening at the Mall of America in June 2018. Although this was a friends-and-family exclusive colorway, Wahlberg raffled off 30 pairs in 2018 to raise money for victims and the responders of the California wildfires. —Victor Deng
Eminem x Air Jordan 4 ‘Encore’
Year: 2005/2017
This might be the top shoe on this list that has the best shot at an official release. Eminem has plenty of unreleased sneakers that have reached grail status, but for some reason, the Air Jordan 4 “Encore” keeps coming back around like Halley’s Comet. Originally created in 2005 to celebrate Encore, only 50 pairs were reportedly made for friends and family. It resurfaced in 2017 around Revival through an exclusive StockX release limited to just 23 pairs. Now, with rumors of a wider release in 2027 floating around, we might finally find out how badly people still want them. Until then, the original pair has something a new release can’t recreate. It feels like a physical timestamp of an era when Eminem seemed to be having the most fun, and that nostalgia is a huge part of what made the shoe so awesome. —Douglas Jase
Travis Scott x Air Jordan 4 ‘Purple’
Year: 2018
We won’t argue with you if you have Travis Scott’s friends-and-family exclusive purple Air Jordan 4 as the best Air Jordan 4 that never released, but we have it in the second spot. It was an awesome colorway when Travis and Chase B debuted it in 2018, and still holds up in 2026. There were multiple versions that have been revealed, including different colored branding on the tongue and heel as well as different color blockings on the midsole, but the premium purple suede upper remains consistent. A release for this collab likely won’t ever see the light of day, but we can dream. —Victor Deng
Off-White x Air Jordan 4 ‘Bred’
Year: 2019
Rumors of the late Virgil Abloh’s take on the “Bred” Air Jordan 4 hitting retail have persisted for years, but thus far we only have the women’s-exclusive “Sail” version that’s been available to the public. That said, the re-release of the Virgil Abloh Archives x Air Jordan 1 “Alaska” gives us hope that the project could some day be released. The sneaker has been displayed dating back to 2019 when it was first seen at Abloh's "Figures of Speech" exhibit at MCA Chicago. This variation of the Air Jordan 4 is reminiscent of the original “Chicago” Off-White x Air Jordan 1, transforming an original Bulls colorway into a familiar-but-new object that’s unmistakably Abloh’s work. If the resale price of at least one pair that hit the open market is any indication, a potential release would be a major event, and another opportunity to tell Abloh’s story through his archive. —Zac Dubasik
