The Best Air Jordan 6 Colorways of All Time, Ranked

The Air Jordan 6 could arguably be the most important sneaker in Michael Jordan’s basketball career. We’re talking about the sneaker he wore when he finally got over the hump in the NBA Playoffs in 1991 and won his first championship with the Chicago Bulls, after falling short the six years prior.

The Air Jordan 6 was designed by the legendary Tinker Hatfield, who up to that point had produced a number of now-classic silhouettes, including the Air Max 1 and the Air Jordan 5. The Jordan 6 borrowed design cues from MJ’s Porsche 911, starting with its sleek upper and even the pull tab on the heel resembling the car’s rear spoiler. The shoe is also notable for its finishing touches including the icy translucent outsoles and lace lock.

The Air Jordan 6 was first released in 1991 and had a total of five original colorways, including both black and white “Infrared” makeups, “Carmine,” “Maroon,” and the oft-forgotten “Sport Blue.” Following its original run, the sneaker was retroed in 2000, which featured a mixture of OG and new styles. What are the best colorways that have been in its 35-year run? Here is our take on the best Air Jordan 6s of all time, ranked.

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Year: 2017

The “Gatorade” Air Jordan 6 from 2017 was one collaboration that just felt organic. For this entry, we’re talking about the green and orange pair instead of the “Carmine”-esque version. The bold colorway was designed to look like the Gatorade cups NBA players would drink out of during games. It also helps that Michael Jordan was famously sponsored by Gatorade and created iconic campaigns together, including “Be Like Mike.” The “Gatorade” Air Jordan 6 is a solid colorway that almost looks like a modern PE, cracking the top 10 Best Air Jordan 6s of all time. —Victor Deng

Year: 2019

The Aleali May x Air Jordan 6s are pretty in pink. This is an interesting one. Jordan Brand was going through weird times back in 2019. They hadn’t fully gotten their swagger back and they were teasing these just as a friends and family pair to build hype on them. That wasn’t the case, and they release, which was a win for everyone. It’s weird to look back at 2019 and think about how it was a lifetime ago, and how “Millennial Pink” was the hot color back then. But Jordan Brand essentially did the White Infrared 6s in an Millennial Pink upper and it was a hit, and a win for the sneakerhead girls out there. —Matt Welty

Year: 2010

Motorsports, and automotive influence in general, has long been a part of the Air Jordan story. The first model to reference cars directly, though, is typically credited to the Air Jordan 6, with its heel pull tab mimicking the spoiler on Michael Jordan’s 911 Turbo. As MJ transitioned to life after basketball, focus turned to his race teams—specifically motorcycle racing in the mid-to-late 2000s. As we’d seen with previous models like the Air Jordan 5, this sneaker was made to match that year’s bike livery. Unlike that example though, what was once reserved for the race team and friends and family actually dropped at retail (along with a matching but much less coveted 6 Rings). The sneaker itself featured a premium upper with a pearlescent sheen, and a restrained use of elephant print that was limited to the lining. It felt special at the time for the unique design, and has held up as one of the best Air Jordan 6 colorways, even today. —Zac Dubasik

Year: 2019

Travis Scott and Jordan Brand don’t miss when it comes to their Air Jordan collabs ,and the same can be said for their Air Jordan 6 releases. Their first Jordan 6 project arrived in 2019 in a militaristic olive colorway, followed by a brown pair in 2021. Travis didn’t just make his own colorways but was able to introduce new features to the shoe, like adding cargo pockets to the collars and opting for a glow-in-the-dark outsole. The Travis Scott x Air Jordan 6 also felt more attainable than his Jordan 1s at that time, which was a great thing for Travis fans. Even the ads were notable, with Randy Moss appearing in the campaign for the green pair. —Victor Deng

Year: 2006, 2020

The “DMP” Air Jordan 6 was not only one of the best Air Jordan 6 colorways of all time, but is also one of the more significant releases of the model. The black and gold iteration initially dropped in 2006 as part of Jordan Brand’s first two-shoe pack alongside a white and gold Air Jordan 11. The pack celebrated Michael Jordan’s two 3-peats in the ‘90s, and instantly became one of the most sought-after Air Jordan releases. The brand did retro the ‘DMP’ Jordan 6 as a standalone release in 2020, giving fans a chance to cop one of the best Jordan 6 colorways ever. —Victor Deng

Year: 2009, 2019

The “Doernbecher” Air Jordan 6 is the most sentimental colorway on this list. It was designed by Jordan Dark, a young cancer patient at the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, in 2009. The upper of the sneaker even has the numbers “06/08” and “04/09,” representing the days Dark’s chemo treatment began and ended. The sneaker was so good that Jordan Brand actually retroed it in February 2019 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Nike Doernbecher program. —Victor Deng

Year: 2000

It’s rare that an Air Jordan has an on-court legacy tied to a player other than Michael Jordan, but that’s exactly the case with the “Olympic” Air Jordan 6. The sneaker debuted in 2000 and was famously worn by Ray Allen (and a little less famously by Vin Baker) in the Summer Olympics, held in Sydney, Australia. There were no moments quite like Vince Carter’s legendary dunk over Cedric Weis in the Nike BB4 for the sneaker, but a gold medal is a gold medal—something Team USA didn’t win in the following Olympics. Aside from its medal-winning prestige, it was also notable for its then-unique aesthetic and being the first non-OG colorway of the silhouette to release, solidifying its place as one of the best Air Jordan 6 colorways. —Zac Dubasik

Year: 1991

“Black Infrared” is the one, but “White Infrared” is a close second—well, third. I remember in 2010 when they brought back both pairs, first in Varsity Red (these are not classics by any stretch of the imagination) and then in an Infrared Pack, where the shoes were stored in a bag for computer parts to stop yellowing. The White Infrared 6 is still a big sneaker. It was featured in Jordan ads back then. It was featured in the anime “Slam Dunk,” which ended up getting its down Air Jordan 6 based on that. Some people don’t like white Air Jordans. I’m not one of them, so this sneaker is highly rated. —Matt Welty

Year: 1991

The Air Jordan 6 “Carmine” stands out among the original colorways thanks to its bold colorblocking. The shoe has seen several retro releases over the years, and the consistent demand only reassures its status as a classic. Notably, the 2021 retro truly did the Carmine justice, bringing back the Nike Air on the heel. Recently, Stephen Curry was spotted wearing a pair alongside his wife Ayesha during his sneaker free agency—a good reminder that it hangs as one of the best Jordans we all grew up with. —Douglas Jase

Year: 1991

Was there ever a doubt that the “Black Infrared” Air Jordan 6 is the best colorway of the sneaker? If you did have any, it wouldn’t have been a strong argument, regardless. The “Black Infrared” pair is only one of three original colorways on this list and is most commonly linked to Michael Jordan at his peak in the NBA. It was the sneaker he was wearing when he captured his first NBA title in 1991 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Since its original ’91 release, the style has dropped four more times, including a “Reverse Infrared” pair expected to arrive in February. Even 35 years later, the “Black Infrared” colorway is typically the version that resonates most when we’re talking about the Air Jordan 6. —Victor Deng

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