We all have our top-5 favorite pairs of Jordans – it’s one of the most common ‘lists’ within the sneaker culture. Selecting five pairs of Jays is no easy task, some choose to base their opinions off of design and others choose historical impact. We’re going to celebrate #MJMonday with Robbie’s top-5 Jordans of all time. Tell us in the comments section of Instagram and down below if you agree or disagree!
Jordan VI
Year: 1991
Favorite Colorways: Carmine, Black Infared
Season Highlights: 1stNBA Championship, League MVP; All-NBA; Scoring Champ
Why: Wearing the Jordan VI MJ finally got the preverbal ‘monkey off his back’ by defeating Magic Johnson’s Lakers squad to win his first NBA Championship. To me, the colorblocking possibilities are endless with the VI – especially with the ‘Carmines’. The shoe uses bold lines while remaining understated with traditionally simple uppers of leather and nubuck. Kanye once said the Black Infareds are one of his favorite Jays and that rubbed off on me.
Jordan V
Year: 1990
Favorite Colroways: Black Metallic, Bel Air
Season Highlights: 69-points vs. Cavs; All-NBA; Scoring Champ
Why: Those midsole teeth man, those teeth! The fighter jet inspiration throughout the Jordan V stands as one of the coolest design cues of all time. The 3m reflective tongue makes the historically muted upper pop too. For me, it’s the way Jordan Brand has used the Jordan V for storytelling with personal favorite colorways like the Fresh Prince inspired ‘Bel Air’s and the hauntingly awesome Jordan V ‘Fear’; but nothing beats the ‘Black Metallic’ V’s (from a colorway perspective, the ‘Black Metallic’s are a top-3 colorway).
Jordan XI
Year: 1996
Favorite Colorways: Bred, Space Jam
Season Highlights: Space Jam, duh; League MVP; All-Star MVP; All-NBA; Scoring Champion; MJ’s first full season back from retirement; 4thChampionship.
Why: The XI looks good in any situation and is one of the few Jordans that works just as good in low top form (miss me with the VIII lows, VI lows and V lows). The patent leather upper was new for a basketball shoe in 1996 and I love that it started a trend that lives on today. I completely understand the Concords are one of the greatest individual shoes ever, but I prefer dominantly black uppers on my XIs.
Jordan I
Year: 1985
Favorite Colorways: Royals, Chi-towns
Season Highlights: Rookie of the year; 63-points vs. Celtics
Why: The shoe that started it all. The shoe that looks good with EVERYTHING. The shoe that put MJ and Nike on the map. The Jordan I’s design has withstood the test of time and will undoubtedly will never go out of style. I love how similar the I is to the Nike Dunk; to me Nike treated the Jordan I perfectly by building upon what was already available. The Royal colorway is in my top-3 individual Jordans of all time. I might sound crazy but I also put the Chi-Towns above the Bred I’s.
Jordan III
Year: 1988
Favorite Colorways: Black Cement, DB
Season Highlights: League MVP; Scoring Champion ; All-NBA; Defensive MVP; All-Star MVP; dunk contest champion; 59-pts vs. Pistons
Why: The III is the Jordan in my book. Tinker went crazy on this one with visible Air and elephant print, the combination is one of the most recgonizable in footwear. The OGs look great, the newer iterations look great, the shoe just looks great – it’s flawless. It’s hard to argue the Black Cement being the greatest individual Jordan in history, many would agree. I personally like the DB III’s more than the BCs because of the way Jordan added new elements without losing the shoe’s OG heritage.
Robbie Falchi
Nick Engvall