The Best Air Jordans of 2022
2022 Air Jordan releases (as well as all sneaker releases) have been defined more by what hasn’t come out than by what has. And many of those that have were never intended for 2022 in the first place—just take a look at the outward facing tags that read “HO21” on Union’s Air Jordan 2 collaboration as evidence. As supply chain issues continue to plague the launch calendar for going on two years in the aftermath of the global pandemic, a handful of sneakers have managed to hold their own despite less-than-ideal timing.To get more news about cheap jordans, you can visit cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping official website.
A notable trend in the Air Jordans this year is a lack of reliance on collaborations. That’s not to say we have anything against them, or that we don’t expect plenty to arrive in the back half of the year, but it’s a refreshing change of pace to enjoy releases on their own merits, even if that was the result of shipping woes.To get more news about cheap jordan shoes, you can visit cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping official website.
As we head towards the halfway mark of the year, we’re taking a look at which Air Jordans stood out the most. These are the best Air Jordans of 2022 so far.
10. Air Jordan 1 High ‘Dark Marina Blue’
Jordan Brand has never shied away from reworking the color blocking of original Air Jordan 1 styles—the answer to “how many different ways can they remix a red, white, and black Air Jordan 1?” may never be found. This time around it was the “Royal” 1’s turn to get flipped. The result was this Dunk-style take on the model in “Dark Marina Blue” that was released in February. Sure, there’s nothing groundbreaking here and the hype was minimal. Although the sneaker had no trouble selling out, some sizes are currently hovering right around the $170 retail price. But a good sneaker is a good sneaker, and even as the energy around the Air Jordan 1 as a whole appears to have slowed a bit, this sneaker’s accessibility and clean esthetics made for one of the better Air Jordan options in the first half of 2022. To get more news about cheap air jordan, you can visit cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping official website.
9. Air Jordan 6 ‘Midnight Navy’
It took 22 long years for Jordan Brand to reissue the “Midnight Navy” Air Jordan 6 and it was well worth the wait. The shoe experienced a delayed launch—a likely byproduct of supply chain issues caused by the pandemic—and was originally expected in November 2021, but it finally dropped last month. Reviews have been mostly positive, and it didn’t experience any of the pink-tinted midsole issues that plagued last year’s “Carmine” retro. By Air Jordan 6 standards it’s relatively subdued, opting for an all-white leather upper with the only accents coming in the form of midnight navy throughout the shoe. There’s no flashy infrared color pop or bold Chicago Bulls colors. They look like the sort of sneakers Jerry Seinfeld would’ve worn on his namesake sitcom had they originally released a few years earlier. It’s this simplicity lends to its enduring appeal and makes these one of the biggest sleeper picks of the year thus far. —Riley Jones
8. Air Jordan 3 ‘Neapolitan’
A good Air Jordan 3 is always going to have a place on a list like this. The Neapolitan pair this year, a women’s exclusive, surprised people. It wasn’t a callback of an original colorway or a coveted collaboration. It was something new, something more subtle, but made at the right time. One of the more underloved Air Jordan 3s of all time is the Mocha pair, and this shoe takes cues from it with its brown cement print. There’s also an off-white midsole and pink hits toward the heel, which give the shoe its “Neapolitan” ice cream theme. It’s a super simple shoe done in the right way that no one can complain about. The only thing that would have been nice is to see the Nike Air logo on the heel instead of the Jumpman, depending on who you ask. —Matt Welty
7. Air Jordan 5 ‘Green Bean’
Anyone who knows me knows that I have a weakness for Air Jordan 5s, especially ones that came out in or around 2006. With Jordan Brand continuing to bring back a flurry of retro colorways, it was only a matter of time before we saw the “Green Bean” Jordan 5s again. A full reflective upper is the major standout of this particular Jordan 5, but its flashy hits of green keep it just as clean during the day. To me, this shoe is the perfect embodiment of early 2010s Facebook sneaker marketplaces, with a pair of these being sold at a pace that seemed to be multiple times per week. Whether it’s fueled by nostalgia, or a new-age collector is just looking for a new pickup, this Air Jordan 5 is certainly one of the better Jordans of the year so far. —Ben Felderstein
6. Air Jordan 6 ‘UNC’
There are two color schemes that will always look great on a pair of Jordans: “Black/Red” for the Chicago Bulls and “White/University Blue” for the UNC Tar Heels. This Air Jordan 6 utilizes the latter for a well-executed nod to Jordan’s alma mater. While never an official PE, the pair provides a collegiate twist on the “Carmine” 6 colorblocking that resembles one of the numerous exclusives you would expect to see gifted to UNC athletes. It’s the latest example of Jordan Brand giving some repackaged NCAA player exclusives to the general consumer. Pairs that were once hard to get, and worth thousands when you did come across them, are now made widely available. It’s a perfect alternative if you can get past the absence of the school’s official logos. Instead, a red and gray Jordan tag inspired by the tags found on Nike jerseys in the 2000s now fills the space of symbols like UNC’s interlocking “NC” on the tongue or heel. It also doesn’t hurt that the UNC men’s basketball team made a surprising run to the championship game during March Madness this year, just a few weeks after these hit stores. Some collectors may scoff at mass-produced “poverty PEs” (word to Complex’s own Brendan Dunne). But others don’t mind. A good colorway is a good colorway, limited or not. —Mike DeStefano
5. Air Jordan 36 ‘Infrared’
Jordan Brand’s formula of coordinating design elements from original game shoes that match the second digit of the Air Jordan 30s began with the 31. The concept has seen varying degrees of success, but it’s been largely inoffensive thanks to an unexpected level of restraint—subtle details have been the rule rather than full-fledged hybrids. The Air Jordan 36 may have struck the best balance yet, with a shoe that totally stood on its own in new colorways, but played a perfect homage to the 6 as well, particularly when utilizing the model’s trademark “Infrared” color scheme.
4. Air Jordan 12 ‘Playoff’
Although there hasn’t been any official marketing campaign or press release announcement, Jordan Brand has scaled back retros of original colorways in recent years, and instead populated much of its seasonal lineups with tweaks on previously released pairs, such as the “Military Black” Air Jordan 4 and the “Royalty” Air Jordan 12. This means whenever a pair comes back that’s true to the original, it feels that much more special.
3. Air Jordan 3 ‘Muslin’
Not every Air Jordan needs be a re-creation of an original colorway or a hyped-up collaboration involving a superstar entertainer. The best proof of that this year so far comes via the “Muslin” Air Jordan 3, a sort of sleeper release that came without all the headaches of OG designation or an outside entity involved in the design.
2. Union x Air Jordan 2
The Air Jordan 2 has long been one of the lesser-loved shoes in Jordan’s footwear legacy, especially amongst the shoes from his playing days. It’s said that it’s the shoe that made Jordan want to leave Nike. It’s clunkier than the Air Jordan 1, but not futuristic and techy like the 3 or 4. But the shoe has found its home over 30 years after its original release.
1. Air Jordan 1 High ’85 ‘Georgetown’
This is what an Air Jordan 1 is supposed to look like. The sneaker has been tweaked plenty of times in its long retro life, with Jordan Brand recently revisiting the silhouette to better orient it toward the original shape. In the 2010s we finally drifted away from Jumpman-branded Air Jordan 1 Mids and got “Nike Air” on the tongue of original-colored High pairs. In this new decade, the sneaker has been sharpened again, with the new Air Jordan 1 ‘85 version looking more like the pairs that Michael Jordan actually wore in 1985 than any other retro iteration of it in the 21st century. The details separating it from other forms of the same shoe—board lasting, the taller height—are subtle, made for the sake of the connoisseur.
