The Best Air Jordan Reimagined Sneakers Ranked & Reviewed
Published
The Air Jordan Reimagined series has been a hot topic for Jordan Brand since it was announced in 2022. With so many OG colorways already getting a proper retro within the past 10 years, the idea of bringing them back so soon after runs the risk of diluting their value for both the brand and in the eyes of sneakerheads. At the same time, there’s a new sneakerhead born everyday and they are going to want the opportunity to own a piece of Jordan Brand history. Whether they intended for this to be the case or not, the Reimagined series serves as a way to onboard newer fans to the classics while enticing the existing base to re-up, holding off on giving them the OG once more for a few more years. It’s like the various special editions of the original Star Wars trilogy: as long as Disney or George Lucas or some film buff waiting for a monumental payday have access to the original theatrical prints, they can tempt fans to “force buy” special editions, remasters, Disney+ subscriptions and 4K director’s cuts every few years all while dangling the carrot that are the OGs.
Which makes ranking them an interesting thought experiment. If it’s purely a ranking of the OG release’s standing in the culture, that’s your basic run-of-the-mill ranking of the greatest Jordans of all-time. The Reimagined allows us to look at these classics from a new lens. Did the tweaks ultimately enhance the OG’s legacy or knock it down a peg? The latter sounds more difficult because it’s going to take a real egregious reimagining to diminish the colorways that have been a part of this series, but shockingly, there were a few burials on this list.
Here’s the thing with doing an Air Jordan retro review, no matter the parameters: someone’s favorite is going to be ranked too low, and someone’s least favorite is going to be ranked too high. Notice we don’t mention the people who are ever happy with their picks being correctly ranked? That’s because there’s not much conversation to be generated from engaging with someone who agrees with the rankings. It’s just going to be a lot of agreement and that doesn’t make for fun content. The spirit of these lists lies in the arguments and discussions that they spark. It’s much more fun when the Jordan Reimagined opinions of one sneakerhead are vastly different from another.
9. Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Patent Bred (2021)
Our Air Jordan Reimagined review begins with the first pair in the series, the Banned Air Jordan 1 in shiny black and red patent leather. It easily could have been a grand opening and grand closing situation for the Reimagined if not for the fact that it was released when the market was still very thirsty for any pair of Jordan 1s. Drop these in 2025 and they’re embarrassingly sitting in stores.
One of the greatest gifts Tinker Hatfield ever gave to the sneaker community was the use of patent leather on the Air Jordan 11. The glossy material opened up an entirely new lane for Air Jordans that allowed them to be seen in a more elevated manner. The downside to that gift was Jordan Brand’s decision to use patent leather on other models to mixed results.
Ok, that’s a lie. Mixed is being generous. It’s been mostly bad with some exceptions. Patent leather Air Jordan 1s of any kind are not one of those exceptions.
The Air Jordan 11 was designed to accentuate the patent leather mudguard that even after a few wears on or off the court the look was not diminished. When used on a retro that was not designed to highlight the material, the result is a pretty shoe to look at when unboxed for the first time, but cracks under the pressure once that first crease is created. If Spike Lee remade Do The Right Thing in 2021 with Bugging Out wearing Patent Leather Jordans instead of the White Cement 4s, the scene where the sneaker gets scuffed would have gone very differently. Not because Bugging Out and his crew would have been more incensed by the Celtics fan messing up his Js, but because the Celtics fan would look at the sneakers and ask why he was even wearing them in the first place. Less interesting scene, least interesting Reimagined Jordans by a wide margin.
8. Air Jordan 3 Retro Reimagined White Cement (2023)
A pantheon-level Air Jordan by any metric, the White Cement 3s should be a lock for any top five. Along with Black Cement 3s, it’s the sneaker that helped convince Michael Jordan to stay at Nike after threatening a jump to a rival brand. The White Cements was also the pair that MJ wore when he stole won the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest against winner rival Dominique Wilkins. It should be malfeasance to rank the White Cements as low as #8 and yet here we are.
So what happened? Quality control issues and elephant print. In 2018, Jordan Brand dropped a White Cement 3 retro commemorating the MJ’s Slam Dunk Contest win. What irked a significant part of the audience was the icy blue bottom that featured the line where MJ took off from. It wasn’t enough of an uproar because in 2018 every Jordan retro was still selling out, but it did leave some people yearning for something a little closer to the OG or even the 2013 retro. The Reimagined White Cement 3s had the chance to make up for those concerns, but it ultimately fell short in a different way from the 2018 retro.
With the release being Reimagined, there wasn’t much pushback on the pre-aged details on the tooling or the back tabs. The improved Nike Air font was a welcome change, for example. However, the elephant print became a sticking point for a lot of sneakerheads. Some people were receiving pairs where the thickness of the lines on the mudguard mismatched, while others simply were not fans of the thinner lines. Were it not for this unfortunate snafu, this could have easily been a top-five sneaker on this list.
7. Air Jordan 11 Retro Gratitude (2023)
The reason why 2023’s holiday Air Jordan 11 is called “Gratitude” is because the release is a thank you from Jordan Brand to the fans who have stuck with the Jumpman for all these years. A redo of the Air Jordan 11 that was part of the legendary Defining Moments Pack from 2006, this new version swapped out the Cordura mesh on the upper for leather and the translucent outsole for a milky variation while keeping the gold Jumpman. With increased production numbers and easier ways to access them in comparison to the previous Jordan 11 drops, it should have been a mutual admiration society. Spoiler: it was not a mutual admiration society.
Make no mistake, the Gratitude 11s did sell out, but not like it would have ten years prior, when people were camping out at malls all across the country and the morning news would have camera crews standing by to capture any possible shenanigans. It sold out like a hyped sneaker should: early birds got them the minute they dropped and anybody else that was interested could just walk in on the day of release and pick them up with zero issue. Some pairs even managed to make their way to actual shelves at retail stores. It was truly a case of everybody who wanted them was able to get them. But not everybody wanted them and that should worry the brand.
The muted response to the Gratitude 11s can be attributed to a few factors. By late 2023, exhaustion for Air Jordan retros was on full display. It’s one thing to just be tired of Jordans, but to blast that opinion on social media is another. From increasing prices to unimaginative new releases, people were letting their opinions be heard. While the Gratitude 11s appear to pass most critical tests about its quality, the disappointment from fans about the material swap, the increased price tag, and the Jordan retro fatigue meant that this drop was destined to be equivalent of a Marvel Studios production post-Avengers Endgame: a money maker seemingly out of obligation. You might say it’s “too big to fail.”
6. Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG UNC Lost & Found (2025)
Following in the footsteps of the Chicago Lost and Found from 2022, the UNC edition of the Air Jordan 1 Reimagined went with what worked the first time around. Replete with pre-aged detailing like cracked leather hits and yellowed out midsoles, the UNC Lost and Found also came with the mixed packaging that gave them the appearance of a long-lost treasure unearthed after decades in hiding.
Available right now in all sizes and occasionally for below retail at reseller platforms, Jordan Brand’s attempt to recreate the magic of the Chicago release with a less desirable colorway has resulted in a lot of concern trolling on social media about the future of Jordan Brand. Let’s all calm those talks down and say that when inspected a little closer, there is actually a fanbase for this release. It’s just not enough to result in an immediate sellout.
While the UNC Air Jordan 1 might be a less sought after colorway in the pantheon of OG Jordan 1 releases, that’s only true when it’s compared to the upper echelon of the Breds, the Black Toes, the Chicagos, and the Royals. The chatter on social media for the UNC is that those who have a pair are happy with their purchase and the ease in which they are able to pick them up. It leaves Jordan Brand with the conundrum of what’s better for their bottom line: a small but dedicated fan base who are able to buy whatever they want or a wider audience that fights for every pair at the expense of the diehards?
5. Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Reimagined Black Toe (2025)
Walk by any sneaker retailer right now and chances are they will still have the Black Toe Reimagined in stock. And that is a damn shame because that would not be the case in 2015, especially if more people were aware of the story behind the controversial decision to swap out the Wings logo.
In 1984, early versions of the Air Jordan 1 in what would be known as the Black Toe colorway did not have the iconic Wings logo. It was just the words “Air Jordan” with a slanted typeface. While game photos are not clear and easy to find, the early variation was photographed in the 1980s equivalent of 4K during one of MJ’s first photoshoots. Another neat detail that got lost in the marketing was the hidden Michael Jordan signature that’s found on the medial collars, replicating an actual pair that MJ autographed for a friend during his rookie season.
The last time the Black Toe 1s got a non-Reimagined retro release was in 2016. An immediate sellout, Jordan fans were just happy to get a proper retro with Nike Air on the tongue tag with better quality. Their brains would have broken if the Reimagined pair had been released back then with a full marketing force behind it, pushing the lore of the typeface and MJ’s signature.
4. Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Reimagined Royal
Let’s get this out of the way: the Reimagined version of the Royal Air Jordan 1 was good. Swapping out the leather for suede was a maligned move, but it fit the ethos of the Reimagined concept. The execution was top-notch, the extra laces were a nice touch, and mass availability guaranteed that people who wanted a pair were able to buy them.
And yet… people were out here acting like Reimagined Royals were the second coming of the Chef Currys. Unlike the Chicagos, Breds, and Black Toes, the perception is that the Royals are often neglected when it comes to getting a retro. So for people who had been waiting since 2017 for a proper reissue, they took the change to suede as an insult. The meme-fication of the Royals was so widespread that people were seemingly shamed into not buying them at launch. For months, they sat at retail despite massive discounts. In hindsight, it was a sign of things to come as the Reimagined Black Toes continue to sit. The difference is that nobody is clowning people for wearing Black Toes. The Royals were just a perfect storm of frustration and snark coming together. Wonder if this would still be the case if Jordan had not placed this in the Reimagined line and instead branded it as a BIN23 drop?
And yet, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that when Jordan retros became the wave once more, the Reimagined Royals and Black Toes could become favorites because they were affordable and easy to track down. It’s happened before with sneakers like the Black Cat 4s and others, so hold on to those fresh pairs or buy one at half off and stock it for a few years. You just never know with sneakers sometimes.
3. Air Jordan 4 Retro Reimagined Bred (2024)
Black leather on an Air Jordan 4 is not actually reimagining the Air Jordan 4. It’s been done before on the colorways such as the Alternate Motorsports or the lifestyle-specific Oreo pair. But what had not been done before was using leather on the Bred colorway. Just thinking of it sounds blasphemous to an old school sneakerhead. It would be like a suede Black Cement 3. Nobody would want that, right?
Well, it turns out people did want to see how this Reimagined take on the Bred 4s turned out. After some hand-wringing online, perception shifted on the leather-based Bred 4s. It was never going to sell like the 2019 retro when people shed the Playoff moniker in favor of the more meme-ready Bred title, but it was well-received by the general public.
Like the White Cement 3 Reimagined, there were prominent voices on social media complaining about quality control issues, but it seems like the volume was toned down in comparison to the previous year. This does pave the way for a future where we do see a suede Black Cement 3, which does have a sample pair floating around in the ethers of the sneaker internets.
2. Air Jordan 5 Retro OG Reimagined Black Metallic (2025)
Out of the entire Reimagined series so far, the Black Metallic 5s wins the award for doing the bare minimum to be considered "Reimagined." Their #2 ranking is akin to Tyrese Haliburton’s Olympic participation gold medal. And judging the response from the community, this might actually be the route that the brand should consider moving forward.
Take away the Reimagined label and most people would consider this a typical Air Jordan retro of an OG. What that means is that Jordan Brand very rarely accurately recreates an Air Jordan to the exact shape and materials of their OG from over 35 years ago. Even the pairs they claim to be as close to the OG as possible are not always the case. To be fair to the brand, it is virtually impossible because the means of production and material sourcing is so different now compared to the past, but that doesn’t mean fans shouldn’t push them to keep trying.
So the two big “Reimagined” changes to the Black Metallic 5s are reflective piping along the edges and swapping the laces from black to white as a nod to Michael Jordan doing the same in the 1990 NBA Playoffs. In the past, those two features would just be the price of doing a retro of an OG colorway. Today, it almost feels like change for the sake of change just so they can be considered “Reimagined.” And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
1. Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Chicago Lost & Found (2022)
Ask any veteran collector of “things” what their favorite pick up is and chances are they won’t tell you about the most expensive thing they ever paid for or the item that got them into their respective hobby. It’s going to be a fantastic, possibly apocryphal story about finding a grail item at some long-forgotten store that time has forgotten. In that spot are treasures upon treasures that had yet to be ransacked by some opportunistic reseller or influencer looking for their next content hit. In the case of sneakers, it’s going to be a pair that’s just sitting on a shelf in a dusty part of the store or in storage in the back. The packaging is going to be a little busted from old age, but inside is a fresh pair that hasn’t seen the light of day in decades. The condition might be a little frazzled, but it’s still good enough to rock.
The story of the hunt and the discovery is the inspiration for the Lost and Found Air Jordan 1. In an age of cynicism, the wholesome story of the sneaker cut through the noise and became an instant classic. Old sneakerheads can relate to the mom and pop shop experience, and new sneakerheads can reminisce about a past that they never experienced, like they’re Gen-Z’ers who absorb 1980s Japanese pop culture and yearn for things that weren't real.
The vintage stylings on the Air Jordan 1 Chicago were mildly controversial at the time. Still, because there were numerous Chicago retros with all sorts of remixed efforts around that time, the complaints didn’t break through like the Royals would a year later. But the mismatched box pieces and accompanying receipt from a fictional shop drove home the story that could have easily been bungled. An easy pick for the top spot, and it might be a while before another pair comes close to topping it.
From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com
