That’s right, I said it. The Air Jordan 9 “Powder Blue” is the best Air Jordan 9. Why? Because I said so.
Jokes aside, if you really want an answer as to why I think it’s the best, it’s the color blocking. There’s something about that solid white upper contrasted with the black tongue, laces, and inner lining that is then paired with the eye-pleasing Powder Blue midsole that just really does it for me. And since Jordan Brand is bringing it back this week in true-to-original details (dropping March 23, 2024), I thought I’d talk about it a bit.
The Air Jordan 9 is one of the Air Jordans that has suffered through the largest amount of terrible retro colorways (the AJ10 probably has it beat in that respect), which just makes the original four looks for the shoe that much better. The White/Black/Red (or “Chicago” or whatever people call it now), Charcoal, and Olive colorways are also impeccable, but nothing beats the Powder Blue in my book. I’ll overlook Jordan Brand’s past atrocities against the Air Jordan 9 because of this perfectly executed 2024 release of the Powder Blue colorway. In true remastered form, they even included the blue accenting along the edges of the cut of the white leather. Bravo!
Now onto the nostalgia with some OG looks at the Powder Blue Jordan 9. I’ll start with the iconic ad from 1994 with Michael Jordan wearing the shoe with his UNC uniform in promotion of Nike Team Sports gear at Foot Locker. By the way, almost every time you’ve seen this ad on the internet over the past 10+ years, it’s been from my original file you see here that I scanned in 2010. You’re welcome, sneaker blogs and Instagram accounts.
Because of his first retirement, Jordan never wore any Air Jordan 9 in an NBA game, so this is one of the very few times you’ll ever see the Powder Blue colorway on his feet—not that he would have ever worn it with his Bulls uniform anyway, of course. But you can also catch him wearing the Powder Blues in the classic “did Jordan fake his retirement?” TV commercial series that originally aired during the 1994 Super Bowl.
You can see every commercial from that series in this handy YouTube video.
Jordan never wore the Powder Blue 9s in the NBA in 1994, but at least one player did. You guessed it, Negele Knight! Just kidding, nobody would have guessed that.
Zack Schlemmer 