Air Jordan is an annual series of sneakers released by Brand Jordan, a subsidiary of NIKE , Inc. Created for six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan in 1984, the Air Jordan line made its commercial debut in 1985 with the Jordan 1 . Currently, with its 35th signature model, aptly named the Jordan 35, the sub-label is the most popular athlete-specific sneaker line ever created. Designers include Peter Moore, Bruce Kilgore, Wilson Smith III, Tate Kuerbis and Tinker Hatfield, who designed 21 of the 34 designs.

Although rooted in performance basketball , Jordan's – particularly the models between the Jordan 1 and Jordan 14 – have been widely adopted in the lifestyle and casual wear arenas. Brand Jordan re-released the first sneaker in the series in 1994, during Jordan's first retirement from the NBA. The following years saw hundreds of old and new retros, whether individual releases or parts of series (e.g. "Defining Moments Pack", "Countdown Pack") and collections (e.g. , Bin 23). Retros of the Jordan 3 , Jordan 4 , Jordan 5 and Jordan 6 generally attract controversy depending on whether or not they feature the " NIKE " and "NIKE AIR" branding like their inaugural pairs or the "JORDAN" and Jumpman logos. Nonetheless, the line is alive and well, having helped its subsidiary achieve its first billion-dollar revenue quarter in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. (The brand's all-time best-selling release was the Jordan 11 “Bred” from 2019).

Over the past 36 years, the Air Jordan line has hosted high-profile collaborations with UNDEFEATED and Supreme , among others. In recent years, collaborative efforts have received unprecedented attention. These include co-created pairs with Virgil Abloh 's OFF-WHITE , Travis Scott , Drake 's OVO, UNION LA and Don C. Additionally, athletes such as Ray Allen, Mike Bibby, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook have received special Friends & Family and Player Exclusive (PE) pairs, which only added to the Air Jordan legend.