Skip to content

The 6 Best Air Jordan 6s Ever

The 6 Best Air Jordan 6s Ever

In celebration of the Air Jordan 6’s 30th anniversary, we present our picks for the 6 best colorways of all time.

Matt DeSciora

Every Air Jordan shoe from Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls heyday is considered a classic by sneaker enthusiasts. But the Air Jordan 6 is remembered differently from other Air Jordan models. Why? It was the silhouette that Jordan was wearing when he won his first NBA Championship with the Bulls.

Known for its championship heritage, the Air Jordan 6 has had a lasting impact on sneaker culture in the decades since “His Airness” wore the “Infrared” colorway during the 1991 NBA Finals. Today, it ranks as one of the most celebrated Air Jordans ever.

This year, Jordan Brand has honored the Air Jordan 6’s legacy for its 30th anniversary by bringing back its original “Carmine” colorway with all its OG “Nike Air” branding and panel shapes intact. It also tapped Travis Scott for a new collaboration on the “British Khaki,” and offered an Oregon Ducks Player Exclusive-inspired “Electric Green” look, and released other popular colorways. It’s clear that the Air Jordan 6 is just as relevant in 2021 as it was in 1991.

It’s also clear that Jordan Brand holds the Air Jordan 6 in high regard, and we do too. On the shoe’s 30th birthday, we’re taking a look back at some of the greatest Air Jordan 6s of all time, and explaining each one’s significance in sneaker culture.

These are our favorite Air Jordan 6s of all time.

Air Jordan 6 “Doernbecher”

The first non-original Air Jordan 6 colorway that created mega-hype in the sneaker community was patient Jordan Dark’s “Doernbecher” look from 2009. The special colorway is dressed in premium Midnight Navy suede with graphics like “06/08” and “04/09” that reference the dates of Dark’s first and last days of chemotherapy treatment during his battle with cancer. The “Doernbecher” 6 originated from the Doernbecher Freestyle Collection, a program that grants patients the opportunity to design a Nike or Jordan shoe of their choosing to benefit OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Quantities of the original “Doernbecher” were low, but the colorway was chosen by Nike to be brought back in 2019 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Nike’s partnership with Doernbecher.

Air Jordan 6 “Infrared”

The Air Jordan 6 “Infrared” was worn by Kanye West in the “Otis” music video, but even ‘Ye, the most influential figure in fashion, didn’t look as smooth in the black-based colorway as Michael Jordan did during the 1991 NBA Finals. Dipped in black synthetic nubuck with contrasting fiery Infrared accents, the “Infrared” accompanied Jordan as he hung in the air for reverse-hand layups, chased Magic Johnson up-and-down the court, and hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy above his head in victory. The “Infrared” is one of five original Air Jordan 6s, and was the shoe that appeared in commercial spots with Mars Blackmon, aka Spike Lee, upon its early ‘90s release, a colorway everyone clamored for when Jordan Brand started bringing back Air Jordans with their OG “Nike Air” branding in the 2010s. By every measure, the Air Jordan 6 “Infrared” is certified as one of the greatest Air Jordans, period.

Travis Scott x Air Jordan 6 “Cactus Jack”

Despite the recent tragedy and controversy surrounding Travis Scott, we cannot deny that his Air Jordan 6 “Cactus Jack” is one of the best and most desirable Air Jordan 6 colorways in history. Constructed in Medium Olive nubuck, the design is based loosely on the shoe’s “Infrared” color block, but unlike the old school colorway, the “Cactus Jack” features a utilitarian vibe with a cargo pant-inspired stash pocket on the collar. Scott would later double down on the military influence on his “British Khaki” Jordan 6 by adding another pouch to the retro basketball shoe, but the original collaboration remains the benchmark.

Air Jordan 6 “Maroon”

Of the Air Jordan 6’s five original colorways, the “Maroon” is the most intriguing. We hear you scoffing, but to paraphrase Kurt Angle, “It’s true.” Unlike its cohorts, the “Maroon” isn’t associated with any memorable NBA moments, has never been plastered all over social media feeds, or received countless retro releases (the “Maroon” has retroed only once since the original 1991 release), but it did mysteriously pop up in a classic early ‘90s advertisement featuring Michael Jordan in some throwback Nike gear. Sometimes all it takes is a Jordan co-sign to cement a shoe’s cache.

Air Jordan 6 “Carmine”

“Better late than never, but never late is better.” Drake wasn’t singing about Air Jordans, but the crooner’s lyrics on “Fancy” were prophetic when considering how long it took Jordan Brand to give us a proper Air Jordan 6 “Carmine” remaster. Earlier this year, the red-and-white colorway finally returned in its original glory, i.e. with its “Nike Air” branding on the heel and insole, and it couldn’t have happened any sooner. You’d have to go back to 1991 to find the last instance of the “Carmine” with “Nike Air” in those places. Even without OG branding, the “Carmine” was also one of the highlights of the entire Countdown Pack collection in 2008—the last and only other time the coveted colorway was retroed.

Air Jordan 6 “DMP”

A precursor to the modern day collaboration trend, the “Defining Moments Pack” era saw Jordan Brand bundle two classic, gold-accented Air Jordans together in celebration of Michael Jordan’s championship heritage. The 2006 “Defining Moments Pack” is considered one of the most desirable “DMP” releases. It featured the Air Jordan 6 and Air Jordan 11 in colorways inspired by Michael’s two three-peats in 1991 and 1996, and marked only the third-ever Air Jordan 11 “Concord” release at the time. Based on the “Infrared’s” color block, the Jordan 6 “DMP” is one of the most popular non-original colorways, and was brought back as a standalone release for the first time in 2020.