John Kim 
The idea of an un-retroed Air Jordan release was something that had sneakerheads salivating a few years ago. It still does, and perhaps to an even greater extent now, because there are even fewer remaining these days. Jordan Brand has given the people what we want and recently resurrected some of those long lost classics; highly anticipated drops like the ‘Powder Blue’ Air Jordan X and ‘Bordeaux’ VII leave the list of one-and-done originals shorter than at any point since the brand first dabbled in bringbacks back in 1994.
By our count (excepting the-oft modified Air Jordan 1 and its offspring), there are a total of 15 yet-to-be-retroed colorways, at least three of which are slated to release later this year (Powder Blue X and both Air Jordan 6s). Let’s examine this collection of unearthed gems starting with the earliest and going up through the last model MJ wore with the Bulls (the XIV being the latest Air Jordan to have retroed — CDPs not withstanding). The list starts with the second Air Jordan and takes us all the way through the second three-peat:
Air Jordan II Low – White/Red
The original Air Jordan II had two colorways each in the mid and lowtop cuts. Both of the mids have been retroed (the white/red is coming up again this spring) and one of the lows returned along with the very first bringback in 1994. This colorway is also like the white/black/red OG mids in that its blocking was altered for a pair that dropped in ’04 (which is missing the original grey outsole sections).
Air Jordan VI “Sport Blue”
The name of this shoe is not ‘September Blue’; that came from ‘SPR’ being the abbreviation for ‘Sport’ as in Sport Blue on the original boxes. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, you can feel free to call it whatever you like, because if you even see see a pair of these at any point in 2014, that’s better than most of us can say.
Update: The Air Jordan VI “Sport Blue” re-released on August 30th, 2014.
Air Jordan VI “Maroon”
For a first championship shoe, the Jordan 6 has a surprisingly large cache of OGs still on ice. This is the red counterpart to the ‘Sport Blue’ edition, a pair Michael Jordan was shown wearing in catalog images but never wore in an NBA game.
Air Jordan X “City Series”
Michael Jordan’s first retirement presented the opportunity for the first Jays done in other NBA teams’ colors. New York, Orlando, Sacramento and Seattle were selected along with the Charlotte Hornets whose ‘Dark Powder Blue’ colorway returns this Saturday.
Air Jordan XIII Low
There had been blue Air Jordans before, but none save the iconic ‘Royal’ Air Jordan 1 had done it with this kind of dark composition. A darker, lower answer to the ‘Flint’, the ‘Navy’ Jordan 13 Low and its metallic Jumpman have yet to return since debuting in 1998.
If you replaced the ‘Navy’ colorway’s dark blue ballistic nylon with golden wheat brown suede, you’d have the also as yet unretroed ‘Chutney’. This colorway combined the look of Timberland boots with the often-black Air Jordan styling for one of the most explicitly casual of the earlier lifestyle colorways. Timbs and Jays are both stronger than ever fifteen years later; maybe it’s time to bring these back.
Air Jordan XIV “Oxide”
The Air Jordan XIV is a shoe Michael Jordan only wore in a few games, most notably in his ‘Last Shot’ sendoff. Had he stuck around for the following season, had its All-Star Game not been canceled because of the lockout that cost the league nearly half its season, and had they reverted back to the traditional red/blue uniforms (didn’t happen until Jordan’s last ASG in 2003), Mike might have worn these in the ’99 ASG. 2005’s ‘Chartreuse’ was close but has some important differences including the main accent color.
Air Jordan XIV “Indiglo”
The last midtop colorway eligible for this list is one that has not returned since its summer 1999 debut. The ‘Indiglo’ Air Jordan 14 would be welcomed by the same Jordanheads who loved the ‘Altitude’ XIIIs, but does Timex’s Indiglo patent/trademark make a 1-to-1 retro unlikely?
Air Jordan XIV Low
Following on the success of the two XIII Lows, there were three lowtop XIVs released in the summer of 1999. First up was the ‘Laney’ colorway that picked up its name a little later after the Jordan 5s released in MJ’s high school colors the following spring. Next came another alma mater tribute with a white/Carolina blue UNC style. Rounding out the 14 Low and this list is the ‘Ginger’ edition, the ‘Chutney’ XIII Low’s spiritual successor.
