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Michael Jordan’s off-court Air Jordan 9 gets a sixth retro run this fall, timed to Space Jam’s 30th anniversary and landing under two separate style codes.
The Air Jordan 9 is heading back to shelves for a sixth retro run, and this time the timing is doing most of the talking. The White, Black and True Red colorway known as “Space Jam” returns on September 19, 2026, lining up with the 30th anniversary of the film that gave the shoe its nickname, even though Michael Jordan barely wore it in it.
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The Air Jordan 9 occupies an odd spot in Jordan Brand’s history. It first rel in late 1993, arriving a month after Michael Jordan’s first retirement from the NBA, which means he never actual jured a game in the shoe. The closest it came to on-court use was a cleated version Jordan wore during his brief stint playing minor league baseball for the Birmingham Barons. Without a game-worn legacy to lean on, the model’s identity has been shaped almost entirely by pop culture in the decades since, and this White/Black/True Red pairing in particular has become the version most associated with that shift.
This will mark the sixth time the colorway has returned to retail, following prior rel in 2002, a 2008 Countdown Pack pair it with the Air Jordan 14, a standalone 2010 retro, and its most recent outing in 2016, which lined up with the film’s 20th anniversary. Each return has leaned harder into the Space Jam connection than the last, and the 30th anniversary drop is no exception.
Part of what has kept the Air Jordan 9 relevant despite its lack of on-court history is its design itself. Designed by Tinker Hatfield, the outline intro a lower-cut build and a visible external heel counter that set it apart from the higher-top Jordans that came before it, giving it a distinct enough shape that it has aged into its own lane within the line rather than read as a transition model between more famous sil.
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The shoe’s nickname comes entirely from its second life on screen. In the 1996 film pairing Michael Jordan with the Looney Tunes, Jordan wore the White/Black/True Red Air Jordan 9 during the gym scenes early in the movie, well before the black and Concord Air Jordan 11 took over as the film’s more famous, animated-court shoe. That smaller support role has been enough to keep the colorway’s “Space Jam” nickname alive since the connection was made official with the 2016 retro, which arrived to strong demand at the film’s 20th anniversary and helped cement the pairing in a way the shoe’s own on-court history never could.
Nike Air Jordan 9 OG “Space Jam” (HV4794-106) – Official promo featuring Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny, releasing 9/19/2026.
This year’s rel lands alongside a wider slate of anniversary product tied to the film’s 30th, include the more widely recognized Air Jordan 11 “Space Jam” retro and a new green “Monstars” Air Jordan 11 colorway referencing the green-screen suits worn by the human stand-ins for the film’s animated villains. Jordan Brand has reportedly built out an accompanying apparel capsule around the same anniversary as well, extending the tie-in beyond footwear for the first time at this scale.
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The 2026 pair sticks closely to the 1993 original rather than reworking the colorway. A white leather upper is paired with black nubuck across the mudguard, which wraps up toward the collar, while True Red accents show up on the Jumpman brand, the “AIR JORDAN” text on the tongue, and the embroider “23” on each heel, alongside the heel’s globe logo. The tongue also carries silver “Nike Air” branding, a detail pulled from the era when that mark still appeared on Jordan models. Underfoot, a white outsole carries the model’s familiar global-language text treatment, finished off with a red Jumpman on the forefoot.
Jordan Brand has also adjusted the shape for this release, pulling the silhouette closer to its slimmer 1993 proportions rather than the slightly bulkier fit used on some recent Air Jordan 9 retros. The pair also arrives in dedicated Space Jam packaging rather than a standard retro box, with “Tune Squad” brand in the lid and interior artwork depicting the gym where Jordan trained alongside the Looney Tunes in the film.
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The Air Jordan 9 OG “Space Jam” rel September 19, 2026, priced at $215 for adult sizing, with a $165 grade-school price point also confirmed. The rel had originally been targeted for late August before shift to its current September date. Two style codes are attach to the same shoe: HV4794-106 and IX6179-100, both refer to the identical White/Black/True Red release rather than two separate products.
Retail avail is expected to be broad rather than limited, with the pair listed for rel hrough Nike‘s own channels, the SNKRS app, and select Jordan Brand retail partners including Foot Locker, Finish Line, Hibbett and DSG, mere the distribute pattern used for the brand’s other OG retros this year rather than a limit regional rel.
Family sizing is expected to accompany the adult rel, follow Jordan Brand’s usual pattern for a major anniversary retro rather than an adult-only drop. Grade-school pricing has been reported at $165, with preschool and toddler sizing also expected at their standard lower price points, though those specific size-range style codes could not be independently confirmed through a primary source this session.
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