Jordan famously dueled with his young understudy en route to victory and MVP honors, a moment that was well documented on The Last Dance. Despite its nickname, this colorway is probably best remembered for being on Michael Jordan's feet during his showdown with Kobe Bryant in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. Often overshadowed by the "Bred" colorway, the "Playoffs" Air Jordan 13 is a sleeker, more versatile option with perhaps even more history behind it. The woven Air Jordan 1, a three-way project with Bephie’s Beauty Supply, has been polarizing from the start, inspiring considerably more discussion since it leaked a few months back. It’s going to be an uphill battle for this sneaker to hold its spot on this list by the end of the year, however, thanks to another Union Air Jordan collab that’s garnering major interest. That means that with resale prices hovering right around retail (and in some cases even below), they’re a much more accessible entry point into Union’s Air Jordan collab catalog. The shoes were relatively well received, but lacked the hype of Union’s prior Air Jordan work. The AJKO project featured leather and canvas variations, each coming with interchangeable Swooshes in contrasting colors. Union’s AJKO Lows may lack the flash of its 2018 Air Jordan 1 High collabs, with their cobbled together OG colorways, but they do offer a simple and wearable look with just enough detail to know there’s something special going on. This version is meant to look like one of the most iconic sneakers of all time has been thrust through a number of multiverses, shifting patterns and textures along its journey. Both pairs of Spider-Man 1s now have built off of the traditional Air Jordan 1 “Chicago” color blocking, but add signature details to further both the comic book and Spider-Man stories. Inspired by the multiverse of the latest Spider-Man movie, this shoe comes with a plethora of glitchy details that play off of the animated movie's theme of jumping in and out of different realities. But, much like the Union Jordan 4s, the brand new Air Jordan 1 “Royal Reimagined” and tons more like them, the second Spider-Man-themed Jordan 1 started looking much better in more detail. I, myself was ready to call these one of the worst sneakers that I had ever seen off of the first images that we saw. The Air Jordan 1 “Next Chapter” is no exception. It seems like just about every hyped sneaker or collab that gets leaked these days comes with a set of initial images that everyone hates. But in the meantime, it was a refreshing change of pace to see one of MJ’s actual on-court player exclusives hit retail. Would a “True Blue” 3 with “Nike Air” on the heel have been preferable to most fans? Sure, and it’s likely only a matter of time until we get that. Michael Jordan’s late-career return to the court with the Washington Wizards wasn’t particularly memorable from a basketball standpoint, but it did provide some lasting sneaker memories. But when a retro colorway drops for the first time that does have some meaning behind it, it certainly can make for a more interesting release, which is exactly how the “Wizards” Air Jordan 3 landed on this list. And that’s fine-a good colorway doesn’t need to be anything other than just that, as evidenced by many of the OGs we hold in such high regard like the “Grape” Air Jordan 5. So many retro colorways land with no real rhyme or reason to their looks, no story to tell, and no historical significance. As with all of our mid-year lists, we reserve the right to shuffle this order up at the end of the year, when we determine with more finality which were the best Air Jordans, and sneakers in general, of 2023. These are the best Air Jordans of the year, so far. Some of these came with a twist, like the “Wizards” and “Reimagined” Air Jordan 3s, and some stuck to the basics, like the ”Playoff” Air Jordan 13.Īs we hit the halfway mark of 2023, we’re taking a look back at which Air Jordans stood out the most below. Collaborations do not make up all of the list, as much of what we expect from Jordan Brand is classic, familiar colorways. The collaborative projects cover a wide spectrum of partners, like staples Travis Scott and Union LA, a return to the Spider-Verse, and even Nike SB. It’s a strong mix, albeit a bit top heavy, that is poised to hold its own not only amongst other Air Jordans, but in the broader 2023 sneaker landscape as well. This year’s top Air Jordans run the gamut from originals to brand-new colorways, and from returning retros to collabs.
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