Recapping Every Air Jordan 5 of 2021

Air Jordan

Recapping Every Air Jordan 5 of 2021

The Air Jordan 5 celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020, and this year proved to be an encore to the celebration. This is your guide to every Jordan 5 of 2021.

Matt DeSciora

In 2020, Jordan Brand celebrated the 30-year anniversary of one of its most classic shoes, the Air Jordan 5. Highlights of the celebration included collaborating with Off-White twice, and bringing back the original “Fire Red - Silver Tongue” colorway. Just when it seemed like appreciation for the Air Jordan 5 had reached a crescendo, Jordan Brand showed its reverence for the vintage basketball shoe by releasing it in even more great colorways in 2021.

Why so many Air Jordan 5s?

There are a few floating theories. One suggests that, due to pandemic-induced production and shipping problems, Jordan Brand wasn’t able to release its full allotment of the shoe in 2020, so it simply dropped whatever didn’t make the boat in 2020 in 2021. It checks out.

Another likely cause: historically, whatever Virgil Abloh touches turns to gold. The Nike Dunk’s popularity exploded soon after Off-White reconstructed the shoe in 2019. So after Off-White hit the Air Jordan 5 with a throwback flair, everyone wanted in.

Whatever the case, colorways like the “Raging Bull” and “Oreo” kept the Air Jordan 5 on everyone’s radar for a second consecutive year, and over 30 years following its initial release.

So, was the Air Jordan 5 in your rotation this year? If not, now is the perfect time to reacquaint yourself with the ‘90s sneaker by browsing—and shopping!—our selection of the best Air Jordan 5s of 2021.

Air Jordan 5 Low “Chinese New Year 2021”

Release date: January 23, 2021

One of only a handful of staggered releases of the model, the Air Jordan 5 Low “Chinese New Year 2021” is by far the most creative look yet for the low-top version of Michael Jordan’s fifth signature shoe. Dedicated to the traditional Chinese holiday, the shoe’s details include a tear-away canvas upper that reveals a festive look underneath, plenty of fiery red accenting, and Chinese New Year-specific branding on the heel. The Air Jordan 1 Low OG “Chinese New Year 2021” may be the more limited of Jordan’s “Chinese New Year” drops from 2021, but the Jordan 5 Low is the intriguing choice if you’re the type who wears your sneakers into the ground. Few Air Jordans will age as gracefully as the “Chinese New Year” Air Jordan 5 Low.

Air Jordan 5 “Anthracite”

Release date: February 6, 2021

Some serious changes were applied to the Air Jordan 5 in 2021. There may be no more shining example of what we’re talking about than the “Anthracite” colorway. The model, among its modifications, features a mesh base, suede overlays, and reflective netting on the sides and tongue. The latter details make reference to the oft-rumored idea that Jordan 5’s designer, Tinker Hatfield, had originally imagined Michael Jordan’s fifth signature basketball shoe to display an all-reflective upper. The “Anthracite,” like the Jordan 5 “Green Bean” colorway, is close to Hatfield’s sketched-up concept.

Air Jordan 5 “Stealth 2.0”

Release date: March 27, 2021

Remember when we said it was a great year to be a fan of 2000s-era Air Jordans? It wasn’t hyperbole. In addition to the “Raging Bull” Air Jordan 5 and Air Jordan 4 “Lightning,” and so many other classic 2000s sneaker releases, really, the Air Jordan 5 came back out in its 2006 “Stealth” colorway, but with a few adjustments. Dubbed the “Stealth 2.0,” the modern release features a black Jumpman on the heel and new black “shark tooth” detailing with blue speckle on the midsole. The original “Stealth” had a blue Jumpman on the back and different accenting on the midsole.

Air Jordan 5 “Raging Bull 2021”

Release date: April 10, 2021

It was a strong year for non-original Air Jordan colorways that first appeared in one of Jordan Brand’s famed “packs” from the 2000s. In April, the all-red Air Jordan 5 “Raging Bull” that came packaged alongside a black-based colorway as part of 2008’s “Defining Moments Pack” returned as a standalone release for the first time ever. The other instance of Jordan bringing back a colorway from the “DMP” era: the Air Jordan 4 “Lightning.” So yeah, 2021 was a great year to be nostalgic about 2000s-era Air Jordans.

Air Jordan 5 Low “Wings - Class of 2021”

Release date: May 14, 2021

One of the more slept-on shoes in the Air Jordan canon, the Air Jordan 5 Low isn’t normally the subject of many collaborations or colorways. But when it does release every so often, it’s usually noteworthy. The shoe, which debuted in 2006 with two women’s-exclusive colorways, added the “Wings - Class of 2021” style to the line in 2021, a colorway that mimics the cap-and-gown outfit worn by graduates of Jordan’s Wings Scholarship Program.

Air Jordan 5 “Quai 54”

Release date: July 10, 2021

Jordan Brand’s Quai 54 streetball tournament took a year off in 2020, but returned in full force in 2021. To celebrate, the Air Jordan 5 introduced a new “Quai 54” colorway into its collection. Based on the “Fire Red” look, the “Quai 54” updates the shoe with unique branding, speckled laces, and other modifications. We’re happy to see the “Quai 54,” like the “Shattered Backboard,” retain the Air Jordan 5’s classic, “OG” inspired silver reflective tongue.

Air Jordan 5 “Oreo 2021”

Release date: September 11, 2021

Repackaged as the “Moonlight” officially by Nike, this Air Jordan 5 is essentially the “Oreo” colorway that debuted in 2013. You’d be hard pressed to find many differences between the two “Oreo” colorways, and that’s a good thing. Why fix what’s not broken?

Air Jordan 5 “Shattered Backboard”

Release date: October 2, 2021

The Air Jordan 1 has its share of “Shattered Backboard” colorways, which is understandable considering the shoe introducing the concept. Now, the Air Jordan 5 is the next design to adopt the theme that looks to Michael Jordan’s obscure, backboard-shattering moment for inspiration. Unlike virtually any Air Jordan 5 before it, the “Shattered Backboard” does away with the model’s original netting on the tongue and mid-panel in favor of mesh. There’s also added mesh on the collar for a refreshing new look.

Women’s Air Jordan 5 “Blue Bird”

Release date: October 7, 2021

Similar to the all-suede “Raging Bull,” the Women’s Air Jordan 5 “Blue Bird” is arranged in a plush, all-over light blue suede design that calls to mind the popular “UNC” color story. With that cool, pastel blue color scheme, something tells us these may have originally been slated for an Easter release, but they definitely look great in any season.