The Top 10 Air Jordans That Michael Jordan Never Played In

Jordan Brand officially unveiled the Air Jordan XXX (or 30 however you wanna spell it) on Thursday and so far there’s been mixed reactions to the shoe.

One thing that’s for certain when it comes to the last few (and most current) Air Jordan flagship signature sneakers is that the main focus/goal of the shoe is performance. The designers over at Jordan Brand want to make sure that the shoe will perform well in the area that it’s meant to be used for, playing basketball. With athletes like Russell Westbrook, Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard wearing the Air Jordan 29, JB has to make sure that the shoe meets certain requirements and that real athletes like love wearing it on the court. Their focus is no longer on making classic or timeless designs that would look cool with a pair of jeans because that’s what their Air Jordan retro line currently doing.

The Air Jordan XXX marks yet another shoe in the continuously growing list of silhouettes that Michael Jordan never actually got to wear while playing basketball. Lots of people say that as soon as Michael stopped playing ball that’s when the Air Jordan signature line took a turn for the worst. Not everyone thinks like that, but a large percentage of the masses feels this way. Some say that the Air Jordans 1-11 are the best and others say 1-14. You can make any argument that you like because it all comes down to personal opinion. But what are the best colorways? Do you prefer colorways that Michael actually played in like the Chicago 1s or colorways that he never played in like the Shattered Backboard 1s? Since the focus of this week has been on the Air Jordan XXX I’ll be selecting the top 10 Air Jordan colorways that Michael Jordan never actually wore on the court. Compiling the list was harder than I thought it would be but here’s what I came up with. Keep in mind that I wanted to add a variety of silhouettes and not just fill the list with Air Jordan 4s and 5s.

10Air Jordan 7 Premio Bin 23

The Air Jordan 7 Premio Bin released on Black Friday of 2010 and is one of the rarest and most unique colorways of the silhouette. The graphics on the heel and the vibrant hits of yellow, green and red make it one of the best 7 colorways of all time.

9Air Jordan 3 BHM

In my opinion the Air Jordan 3 Black History Month is one of the most slept on Air Jordans of all-time. Not just as an Air Jordan 3, but as an Air Jordan overall. What’s not to like about a black Air Jordan 3 with gold detailing?

8Air Jordan 12 French Blue

Michael Jordan retired for good in 2003 and the Air Jordan 12 French Blue released in 2004 . Imagine how clean these would have looked if Michael would have had the opportunity to pair them with the Washington Wizards jerseys. Damn, I guess we’ll never know. On the bright side, these are making a comeback later this year so that’s a plus.

7Air Jordan 4 Cool Grey

Back in 2004 we saw the release of the Air Jordan 4 Cool Grey. These also released one year after Michael called it quits so he wasn’t able to lace them up on the court. This is definitely one of the best Air Jordan 4s ever and Jordan Brand desperately needs to bring it back ASAP.

6Air Jordan 10 Linen

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Not many people are aware or know about this colorway of the Air Jordan 10 but the Air Jordan 10 Linen released back in 2005. Do you think this is where Drake got the inspiration for his OVO 10s???

5Air Jordan 6 Olympic

I can already imagine Michael Jordan switching between these Olympic 6s and the Olympic 7s while playing for the Dream Team in Barcelona. It would have made for one of the greatest moments in Michael’s sneaker history.

4Air Jordan 4 Toro Bravo

It’s almost as if these were made to match up with the Chicago Bulls jerseys. In my opinion this is the best colorway of the Air Jordan 4 ever that Michael never wore. The shade of red pops so nicely and looks so vibrant in person.

3Air Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard

Aside from the OG colorways (Chicago, Bred, Royal, etc.) this is probably the best Air Jordan 1 out there. The quality of these along with the backstory/inspiration behind the colorway makes them a win-win.

2Air Jordan 11 72-10

The first Air Jordan 11 with a tumbled leather upper instead of nylon mesh and Jordan Brand knocked it out of the park. Don’t let the fact that these didn’t sell out on release day fool you to believe that they weren’t amazing sneakers, Jordan Brand just produced a much higher quantity this year so more people were able to get their hands on a pair.

1Air Jordan 5 Toro Bravo/Raging Bull

If you’re a fan of red sneakers like me then you either love the Air Jordan 5 Toro Bravo if you have it already or you WOULD LOVE to own a pair. I fall in the latter category. This is currently #1 on my list of sneakers that I would love to own and I hope to take it off that list one day. Everything from the premium red suede upper to the 3M tongue make this the best Air Jordan 5 ever.

So which colorways do you think I missed? Let me know down in the comments below.