Every Nike Ja 3 Colorway Ranked

Ben Nethongkome and Ja Morant knew they had something special with the Nike Ja 3. The often-repeated sneaker adage is that a signature shoe line really starts to hit its stride with the third model. Involving Ja in the process on a deeper level led to him drawing the Swoosh in a slant that made it resemble the letter “J.” From that subtle change in how the Swoosh was presented led to spelling out Ja’s name with the Swoosh on the upper, resulting in the product we now know as one of the most popular signature shoes in quite some time.

In an era where Nike Basketball has been accused of just making the same basketball shoe over and over again, the Ja 3 was the spark that people were waiting for. While that disparaging sentiment is far from universal, it can’t be denied that the Ja 3 made sneakerheads feel like Nike can still bring back the energy of their heyday with the right athlete and a great design. That makes the Ja 3’s success on a critical and sales level worth examining beyond the surface level.

Ja Morant has not been an All-Star since 2023, two months before the debut of the Nike Ja 1. Between injuries, a decline in on-court production, and off-court troubles, Ja has not exactly been living up to being a Nike signature athlete. And yet, the Nike Ja 3 was a contender in plenty of Sneaker of the Year discussions. Ultimately, there will come a point where Nike needs Ja to be on the court and perform at an All-Star level to justify the continuation of the signature line, but it will not be this year, and the Ja 3 will not be that sneaker.

In creating the tier ranking for the Nike Ja 3, it quickly became obvious that it was going to be a top-heavy list where a majority of the over 30 colorways were not going to be featured in a less-than-stellar light. Ja Morant and Nethongkome deserve a great amount of credit for creating a sneaker that reminded the community that a non-retro signature basketball shoe can still dominate the conversation. The only question now is whether Ja can keep the momentum going beyond the Ja 3.

D-Tier

What’s that? Not a single Ja 3 made the D-Tier? Yes, the sneaker’s uniquely aggressive design meant that even colorways that would otherwise be tame or possibly even boring gain a little bit from being placed on the Ja 3’s canvas. The only way to potentially debuff the sneaker’s design is to release a monochromatic pair, although you can play around with that aesthetic on Nike’s custom Nike By You platform. Unless there’s a last-second surprise on the way, Nike steered clear of that aesthetic throughout the shoe’s run.

C-Tier

Entries: Nike Ja 3 Team Bank, Nike Ja 3 EYBL, Nike Ja 3 NYvsNY, Nike Ja 3 Light Show, Nike Ja 3 White/Black Coconut Milk, Nike Ja 3 Twelve Time, Nike Ja 3 Spooky Season, Nike Ja 3 Uncle Phil

Calling these the “worst” of the Nike Ja 3 is insulting. There is not a single dud on this tier, but a floor had to be established and these sneakers are the equivalent of a draft prospect who people consider to have a “high floor.” Even in the worst-case scenario, you’re still walking away with a solid pick.

Simply put, the Ja 3 had the highest floor of any signature pair in a long time. Unlike other signature sneakers from this current crop that would have everybody wondering either what they were thinking or if everybody took the day off when it was to approve some of these releases, there really wasn’t a weak Ja 3 drop.

The Team Bank colorways are typically a sign that the brand is ready to move on to the next model, but Ja actually gave these sneakers some love when others often look at these drops as an afterthought. We’re taking that as a call to action that people should not be overlooking these once the hype cycle for the Ja 4 begins.

Take it from somebody who bought two Team Bank colorways of the Nike Kobe 5 (Texas and North Carolina) for half price in 2010 because nobody cared, and now breathes a sigh of relief every time he sees one go for five times what their retail price is now on reseller platforms. You just never know what people will chase years down the line.

Joining the Team Bank colorways in the C-Tier are the other side of the Ja 3 bookend. Even though Ja debuted his third signature shoe with a pair that made it pretty far in these rankings, they were accompanied by some of the more conservative uppers of the entire run.

The EYBL, NYvsNY, and Light Show colorways all had relatively tame uppers that muted the effect of the scratch marks, but it served to highlight the contrast of the brightly colored vertical swooshes and the graffiti-styled “A.” One could argue Nike did that on purpose so that people did not have to squint to see Ja’s name spelled out like on the Coconut Milk and Twelve Time colorways.

B-Tier

Entries: Nike Ja 3 Showstopper, Nike Ja 3 Christmas, Nike Ja 3 Year of the Horse, Kid’s Nike Ja 3 King of the Court, Kid’s Nike Ja 3 Outer Space

In today’s nomenclature, “mid” might as well be the kiss of death. If a younger writer were ranking these sneakers, there’s a chance they might have called the C-Tier and the B-Tier the “Mid-Tier” and believed them to be the dregs of the line. But that’s not what we consider “mid” in these rankings. When we call something “mid,” it’s the average sneaker that will neither disappoint you nor blow your mind. At least, that’s what the thought process would be if we were to tier rank other signature models that came out this past season. The Ja 3 is a different animal, but the same beast (#KOBESYSTEM). It makes sense to us, no matter what the old Kanye says…

The qualifier to make the B-Tier or higher is that the “Ja” has to be easily identifiable on the upper. Thankfully, Nike did not make this snafu too often, and we are treated to a lot of certifiable heat in these rankings.

The Showstopper colorway was an early pair that showed off how the two-toned nature of the upper and the scratch marks helps us easily identify Ja’s name and the versatility of the sneaker for those looking for something with some earth tones. Christmas and Year of the Horse colorways nailed their respective themes, in particular the Christmas pair that has an exclusive mini-snowglobe embellishment on the tongue that makes the Ja logo move with every step.

Two kid’s exclusive pairs are in the B-Tier thanks to their totally different approaches to the sneaker. While the King of the Court pair is par for the course with its loud multi-color upper, the Outer Space colorway is one brilliantly simple in its execution of a mismatched sneaker.

A-Tier

Entries: Nike Ja 3 Hustle and Flow, Nike Ja 3 Daybreak, Nike Ja 3 Pink Foam, Nike Ja 3 Murray State, Nike Ja 3 Let Ja Be Ja, Kool-Aid x Nike Ja 3, Nike Ja 3 Animal Pack Tiger, Kid’s Nike Ja 3 Zero Gravity

The A-Tier of the Ja 3 is all about variety. From the colorways to the thematic collaborations, there is a pair for every type of sneakerhead, Ja fan, or Memphis Grizzlies fan. There is even something for fans of the New York Knicks, riding high on their NBA Finals appearance.

The mismatched Zero Gravity colorway is perfect for kids of Knicks fans, as the vibes of the team overwhelm the hits of purple that can be found on the right shoe. If the kids aren’t feeling the New York energy, they can opt for a returning favorite with the Kool-Aid x Nike Ja 3 that highlights his favorite lemonade flavors.

While Ja’s relationship to the Grizzlies is as fraught as it has ever been, it’ll be interesting to see if the city itself feels the same way, especially after how much Ja has embraced Memphis during his entire NBA career. One of the Ja 3’s tributes to Memphis is the Hustle and Flow colorway, a mismatched pair that highlights the dichotomy of the area that some NBA players (cough LeBron James cough) have made into a punching bag for baffling reasons.

One place that Ja will likely always feel at home, no matter the circumstances, is his alma mater, Murray State, which received both a retail release that is a nod to the school and an exclusive pair made just for the Racers, complete with their branding. The days of letting Ja be Ja might be coming to an end, but that might not be the case for his sneakers because Nike released both a Nike Ja 3 and a Nike Air Force 1 Low centered around this now-controversial mantra.

Rounding out the colorways in this tier are Pink Foam and Daybreak colorways that present the sneakers in a lighter tone, and an Animal Pack that shows us there is still plenty of untapped potential for the silhouette. Deemphasizing the scratch marks by making them translucent to blend in with the tiger stripe graphics on the upper is definitely something that could take away from what makes the Ja 3 special, but the execution on this colorway should make people even more interested, should there be more sneakers in the Animal Pack that could sneak their way into the release calendar before the Ja 4 arrives.

S-Tier

Entries: Nike Ja 3 Max Volume, Nike Ja 3 All-Star Warning Label, Nike Ja 3 At Dawn, Nike Ja 3 Scratch 3.0 (Grizzlies), Nike Ja 3 Cobalt Bliss, Nike Ja 3 Swarovski, Jurassic Park x Nike Ja 3 Pack

When the Nike Ja 3 returns as a retro in 2036 and beyond, these are the colorways that should get consideration for a second go-round. The Swarovski and Jurassic Park collaborations were two of the most buzzworthy Ja 3 releases, and for good reason.

Swarovski continues to deliver for Ja with their creative use of crystals to make the sneaker shine, while the Jurassic Park collab is corporate synergy at its finest. Did Nike design the Ja 3 knowing they had the license or was it simply serendipitous timing? It ultimately doesn’t matter because the result is a symbiotic pairing that elevated both the sneaker and the movies.

Since Ja Morant debuted the Nike Ja 3 wearing the Max Volume colorway, it’s only fitting that it should be in the S-Tier. When the design is that striking, it deserves a colorway that will turn heads the first time people see it. The same could be said for the All-Star Warning Label colorway, even though the holographic upper does obscure Ja’s name ever so slightly.

As far as colorways that perfectly represent their signature athletes’ teams, the Cobalt Bliss and throwback Scratch 3.0 (aka Grizzlies) colorways are spot-on. Whether a fan is looking for the team’s new or legendary old school look, they cannot go wrong with either pair. What will be interesting to see is whether or not these get a retro down the line with Ja’s status as a Grizzly is up in the air.

Juan Martinez

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