The Air Jordan 11, the sneaker Michael Jordan wore in his first full season after returning to basketball as the Bulls went 72-10, is about to turn 30 and Jordan Brand is going to deliver a celebration worthy of the legendary model. But is not including legendary OG colorways the right move?
BREAKING: @Jumpman23 is celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Air Jordan 11 in a major way — by releasing nine different colorways between October and early 2026 🤯
-Rare Air
-Inner Beast GS
-Pearl
-285 (Atlanta)
-H-Town (Houston)
-Mojave (Las Vegas)
-China
-Gamma
-Tokyo pic.twitter.com/09g2E5igRK— Sole Retriever (@SoleRetriever) September 29, 2025
I’ve said it many times — the Air Jordan 11 is my favorite sneaker of all-time. Legendary designer Tinker Hatfield considers this model his greatest work. It’s a shoe even the most casual sneakerhead is familiar with. So it makes sense Jordan Brand would want to go big with its celebration. And certainly dropping nine (!) colorways between now and spring 2026 is going big. Here are the colorways set to drop, with links to descriptions from Nike/Jordan Brand:
- Air Jordan 11 “Inner Beast” (GS) (Release date: 10/4/25)
- Air Jordan 11 “Rare Air” (Release date: 11/5/25)
- Women’s Air Jordan 11 “Pearl” (Release date: 11/11/25)
- Air Jordan 11 “Mojave” (Release date: 11/22/25)
- Air Jordan 11 “H-Town” (Release date: 11/22/25)
- Air Jordan 11 “285” (Release date: 11/22/25)
- Air Jordan 11 “China” (Release date: 12/1/25)
- Air Jordan 11 “Gamma” (Release date: 12/13/25)
- Air Jordan 11 “Tokyo” (Release date: Spring 2026)
Again, that’s a lot. It begs the question if perhaps it’s a bit too much. For the longest time the Air Jordan 11 was special because it did not release often. It became Jordan Brand’s most special release, saved for every holiday season to represent the most desired release of the year. However, whether it be changing tastes as we see Gen Z become more and more the tastemakers or Nike/Jordan Brand’s larger problem around lack of innovation, we’re beginning to see the Air Jordan 11 lose a little of it’s luster. I loved the Legend Blue release last year and was very excited for its first return since 2014, but the colorway largely sat. As did the Air Jordan 3 Black Cement, somewhat surprisingly.
So I ask the question — is releasing nine colorways too much? Not to mention the fact that NONE of the colorways dropping as part of the 30th anniversary celebration are OG colorways. Maybe I am just an oldhead, but for the 30th anniversary celebration I would have preferred to have gotten at least one OG colorway. Consider that:
- The “Space Jam” Air Jordan 11s last released in 2016.
- The “Concord” Air Jordan 11s last released in 2018.
- The “Bred/Playoff” Air Jordan 11s last released in 2019.
I’d argue that any of those three dropping would hit harder than any of the colorways Jordan Brand has announced today. But like I said, I’m an old head, I’m a Millennial. Maybe Gen Z feels the same about the “Gamma” Air Jordan 11s as I do about the Concords, Breds and Space Jams. However, it just feels odd that the 30th anniversary features NO original colorways. If you really want to celebrate the history of this legendary sneaker, it feels like you need to release at least one of those OG colorways.
Only time will tell if Jordan Brand’s celebration for the Air Jordan 11 will hit the way they want it to and perhaps reverse some of the headwinds the brand has been facing around its retro products. But I think it’s fair to say that if any shoe deserved this kind of celebration, it would be the Air Jordan 11.
Keep up to date with all the latest sneaker drops with our monthly release calendar and hit me up on X at @byandysilva to let me know what you think of Jordan Brand’s planned 30th anniversary celebration of the Air Jordan 11 and which, if any, colorways you’ll be looking to cop.
