The Air Jordan 11 is ubiquitous with the height of Michael Jordan’s dominance in the NBA. After a brief appearance in the prior season’s NBA Playoffs, the sneaker was worn by Jordan for the Chicago Bulls legendary 72-10 season. It was a sneaker that both Jordan and designer Tinker Hatfield crowned as their favorite sneaker in MJ’s signature line.
The sneaker was both eloquent and innovative. Some of the key design elements of the Air Jordan 11 include the carbon fiber plate tucked within the midsole, the full-length Air cushioning, and the unmistakable shiny patent-leather mudguard that was both lightweight and supportive.
There’s no debating that the OG styles like the “Concord,” “Bred,” and “Columbia” have solidified their place among the best Air Jordan 11 colorways, but there are also a handful of chaotic retro releases drawing major crowds, like the “Cool Grey” and “DMP” Jordan 11s, that were too hard to ignore.
It’s worth mentioning that we only ranked the high-cut version of the Air Jordan 11 and the colorways that actually released to the public. This means unreleased samples and player exclusives that have surfaced throughout the years were excluded. With that being said, here’s our ranking of best Air Jordan 11s of all time.
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11.Air Jordan 11 ‘Anniversary’
Year Released: 2010
The “Anniversary” edition of the Air Jordan 11 may be the most controversial colorway in the history of the model. How can an all-white shoe—typically a layup when it comes to acceptance—be so controversial you may ask? Well, it’s missing one very important detail: its logo. The Jumpman on the collar had been a key element of the model since the very beginning, offering a hint of contrast to an otherwise tonal panel, but this one was blank. There were rumors that the missing Jumpman was an inadvertent omission rather than a design choice. The good news? It didn’t matter. The 11’s design was so bold and recognizable that it never needed a logo to do the talking. The 11 never has, and likely never will, look cleaner than this 2010 design, making it the purest representation of the sneaker we've ever seen. —Zac Dubasik
10.Air Jordan 11 ‘Mojave’
Year Released: 2025
Any time an Air Jordan 11 cracks Matt Welty’s personal top 10 sneaker of the year list, you know that the brand has something cooking. How much does that have to do with the fact that this shoe has a NASCAR connection? Probably like 60%, but hey, we’ll still count it. Jordan Brand dropped a trio of city-specific Air Jordan 11s this November, with an early release happening at ComplexCon. The “Mojave” colorway was the clear hero of the trio, coming decked out in a premium purple suede with black accents and a partially pink outsole. It was a unique take on one of the most protected silhouettes in the Jordan Brand’s arsenal, and probably the most eye-catching pair on this list. —Ben Felderstein
9.Air Jordan 11 ‘Pantone’
Year Released: 2014
Originally releasing in 2014 as part of the “Ultimate Gift of Flight” pack, and alongside a similarly-colored Air Jordan 29, the “Pantone” Air Jordan 11 comes fully dressed in Carolina blue patent leather. Four years earlier, this colorway was previewed at the 2010 World Basketball Festival as part a sample collection, but received so much fanfare that the Jumpman couldn’t deny it an official release any longer. It serves as a clear homage to Jordan’s championship-winning days at the University of North Carolina. There was certainly hype around this duo when they first dropped 11 years ago, but the vast majority of people were just into them for the 11s. It’s interesting to me that the Jumpman hasn’t separated the two and given UNC 11s a legitimate retro as it’s easily one of the more beloved color schemes the brand uses. —Ben Felderstein
8.Air Jordan 11 ‘Gamma’
Year Released: 2013, 2025
The “Gamma” Air Jordan 11 was one of the few non-OG colorways to release during the height of the model’s retro releases from the early 2010s. Even so, pairs sold out across retailers almost instantly, and it is still recognized by some as one of the best iterations to ever release despite it not being tied to MJ and his Chicago Bulls days. At the time of writing, the “Gamma” Jordan 11 is expected to hit retailers again this Saturday. And while the latest release is expected to be less limited this time around, getting a pair still won't be an easy feat. —Victor Deng
7.Air Jordan 11 ‘72-10’
Year Released: 2015
Thanks to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers spoiling the Golden State Warriors' 73-9 season in 2016 by defeating them in the Finals, the Bulls' 72-10 season from two decades prior still stands as the benchmark for NBA dominance. Jordan Brand released this Bulls-colored 11 in 2015 to honor that season, and fans immediately ate it up. It was so popular that it broke sales and traffic records, becoming Nike.com’s largest launch ever at the time, doubling the numbers of the previous record holder—all that in addition to the 1-million-plus pairs sold at outside retailers. It doesn’t have the prestige of the pairs worn by MJ, but still stands as one of the best non-OGs the model has seen. —Zac Dubasik
6.Air Jordan 11 ‘DMP’
Year Released: 2006, 2023
Although the “DMP” Air Jordan 11 is technically just a slightly different version of the “Concord” at face value, it’s actually one of the more significant Jordan releases. For starters, the “DMP” was the first-ever Air Jordan pack to hit retailers, and released alongside a black and gold Jordan 6. The “DMP” Jordan 11 wasn’t just another good-looking colorway but celebrated MJ and the Bulls’ second 3-peat in the mid-’90s, with the Jordan 6 honoring their first. The pack was a grail for many sneaker collectors, and in 2023, Jordan Brand retroed the “DMP” Jordan 11 as a standalone release, allowing newer fans and those who weren’t able to get their hands on them during its original drop to finally cop a pair. —Victor Deng
5.Air Jordan 11 ‘Columbia’
Year Released: 1996, 2001, 2014, 2024
Even though Michael Jordan only wore these for a single game (one where he still walked away with All-Star MVP) the shoe’s popularity never dipped. It’s only retroed three times (2001, 2014, and 2024), and every release proves there’s still real demand. The UNC colorway is another example of something that’s just clean, timeless, and instantly recognizable. The most recent retro brought it back in true OG form with the high-cut patent leather, and it genuinely did the shoe justice. This is one of those pairs I break out and even people outside the sneaker world hit you with, “Man, those are so cool.” —Douglas Jase
4.Air Jordan 11 ‘Cool Grey’
Year Released: 2001, 2010, 2021
Jordan Brand introduced the now famous “Cool Grey” colorway to the Air Jordan line in 2001 with the Air Jordan 11. The concept came from Gentry Humphrey, who was then Footwear Product Director. "I woke up early one morning and wanted to do an Air Jordan 11 version of the Air Max 95, but twist it up to make it right for the basketball consumer,” he explained to Nike in 2019. The palette has since become a staple for the brand, showing up in popular models like the Air Jordan 9, Air Jordan 4, and Air Jordan 3. It’s never looked better than it did on the 11 though, where it’s on par with even some of the original colorways. —Zac Dubasik
3.Air Jordan 11 ‘Bred’
Year Released: 1996, 2001, 2008, 2012, 2019
Michael Jordan playing for the Chicago Bulls did something special for red-and-black colorways on sneakers. If he had been drafted to another team, I’m not sure “Bred” would ever hit the same. The Air Jordan 11 “Bred” came out at the right time. The 11 was his comeback shoe and his favorite silhouette—and yeah other 11 colorways had their cultural moment—but the “Bred” had that extra it factor. At that time, the Bulls had just debuted their black alternate jerseys, which only amplified how strong black-and-red looked on court. And when you look back at the lineage from the “Banned” Air Jordan 1, the “Black Cement” 3 at the All-Star Game, you start to see the pattern. Just when people thought MJ might slow down after stepping away from the game, the AJ11 “Bred” was a reminder that black and red on a Jordan had hit its purest form. —Douglas Jase
2.Air Jordan 11 ‘Space Jam’
Year Released: 2000, 2009, 2016
We’ve waxed poetic enough about this sneaker this year. It was one of our top 5 sneakers of the 21st century, and a shoe largely responsible for reigniting the hype around sneakers at the turn of the century. Space Jam 11s are weird in the sense that they’re technically not an OG AJ11 since they never dropped the year that MJ debuted them in the playoffs, but he still wore them that year, so it’s a grey area. But once they did drop, they instantly became one of the most hyped sneakers of all time, of course due to the iconic Space Jam movie, but the clean colorway helps too. If “Concords” weren’t one of the greatest Air Jordans ever created, “Space Jams” would have a serious case for claiming the top AJ11 spot. —Ben Felderstein
1.Air Jordan 11 ‘Concord’
Year Released: 1995, 2000, 2011, 2018
There are several Air Jordan 11 colorways that could be interchangeable when it comes to the number one spot on a list like this, but the “Concord” secures the honor here. It was the first colorway that Michael Jordan wore on-court, debuting the model during the 1995 NBA Playoffs after coming out of retirement. Out of the three original colorways (not counting “Space Jam), the contrasting white and black execution on the “Concord” pair also has a dress shoe look that has appeal both on and off the court. The sneaker is also linked to one of the most notorious sneaker releases ever, with the 2011 retro causing a massive frenzy across the country as fans tried to get their hands on a pair. Any time the “Concord” Jordan 11 returns to shelves, you can always expect a high demand for it. —Victor Deng