There aren’t many things that are much more timeless than a pair of Levi’s denim. Michael Jordan himself knows a thing or two about wearing denim, specifically with his Air Jordans, so it makes sense that Jordan Brand and Nike have released several collabs with Levi’s over the years.
Next up between the entities is a Levi’s x Air Jordan 3 collection dropping this month, which includes an LA-exclusive colorway for this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend. For Nike, it’s had denim-covered versions of the Air Force 1, Air Max 95, and others throughout the years.
Ahead of the upcoming Levi’s x Air Jordan 3 release this weekend, we’ve looked back at the best Levi’s x Nike and Air Jordan collabs that have released thus far. Here are the best Levi’s x Nike and Jordan Brand collabs, ranked.
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Year: 2019
Along with the Air Force 1s on this list, Nike and Levi’s allowed fans to create their own denim-covered collabs in 2019 via the Swoosh’s By You platform. The other silhouette included was the Air Max 90, which allowed fans to experiment with different denim combinations throughout the shoe and create their own colorway that truly felt unique. —Victor Deng
Year: 2025
Nigo’s partnership with Nike has been—a mixed bag. The ad campaigns have been strong and well received, the product has been solid, but the hype has been minimal. Blame for the lack of excitement could be attributed to a handful of factors, but the Nike Air Force 3 being the silhouette of choice has to be near the top of the list. The late ‘80s silhouette just isn’t a model that resonates with many fans, so the collaborations, regardless of their quality, have been facing an uphill battle from the start. That being said, the AF3’s busy upper with its many layers lends itself well to the denim-based Levi’s executions, with the textures providing an extra layer of visual interest. Despite landing towards the bottom of our best Levi’s x Nike and Jordan ranking, they fare surprisingly well on the resale market. —Zac Dubasik
Year: 2019
This writer is a bit biased when it comes to the Levi’s x Nike Air Force 1 collection from 2019. The Air Force 1 Low is, specifically, one of my favorite projects from the two entities—it’s a pair I still search for on the secondary marketplace from time to time. The pack wasn’t necessarily flashy by any means, but each pair featured a full denim construction on the uppers down to the midsoles and was covered in a co-branded graphic. It’s also not a Levi’s product without its signature red tab on the heel. —Victor Deng
Year: 2012
I gotta be honest with you: I forgot this shoe happened. Mainly because, one, there are much better other denim Dunks out there, and two, it came out in the dark era of Nike SB, in 2012, when the brand was pretty much left for dead. But there are two pairs: a dark denim and a black denim. If these came out around 2020, I think they’d have a much bigger buzz on them. It’s kind of hard to track down Dunks from this era, mainly because people weren’t collecting and reselling them as much back then. —Matt Welty
Year: 2008
The ’23/501’ Levi’s x Air Jordan 1 Mid pack was the collab that started it all between the two entities. It was released in 2008, when sneaker collaborations weren’t as frequent as they are now, let alone ones between two iconic brands. Limited to only 2,323 units, the pack included a red and elephant print-covered Air Jordan 1 Mid that also featured denim on the uppers. The collection also included a graphic t-shirt and co-branded Levi’s 501 denim. —Victor Deng
Year: 2026
Levi’s collaboration on the Air Jordan 3 has felt special since the first time we saw it. Spike Lee debuted the project in its all-blue “Rigid” colorway courtside at a Knicks game in late 2025. He was then spotted in a “Black Cement”-style variation a few weeks later as the slow-roll unveiling continued. Since then, two additional colorways have been unveiled: a “Year of the Horse” edition for the Lunar New Year, and an LA-exclusive “City of Angles” version (which quickly became the favorite) dropping for NBA All-Star Weekend. The entire campaign has been meaningful, from Lee’s ties to the original Air Jordan 3 ads, to the Super Bowl activations linked to Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco. It’s a bit early to know how well the denim-adorned Air Jordan 3s will age and be viewed outside the excitement of their launch, but the product speaks for itself already, with no misses in the whole collection. —Zac Dubasik
Year: 2025
It’s no secret that 2025 was the year of the Air Max 95. From countless collabs to OG returns, the legendary 30-year old sneaker dominated headlines during a year that many people consider one of the best overall sneaker years in recent memory. Levi’s hit retail with three denim-wrapped pairs of Air Max 95s that perfectly utilized the wavy upper of the shoe. The blue pair led the way for this trio with a white and black iteration close behind. But the true hero of this collection was the friends and family dark blue raw denim pair that never made its way to retail. If we were counting that version, there’s a real good chance these 95s would give the Jordan 4s a run for their money at the top. —Ben Felderstein
Year: 2018
Now this is what I’m talking about. If you asked me personally, I’m putting the denim Levi’s 95s over the Air Jordan 4s. But there’s no denying that the 4s had a much bigger impact. They came out in 2018, at a period where Jordan Brand was previously down but on the surge thanks to shoes like Virgil Abloh’s The 10 and Kaws’ Air Jordan 4s. And the Levi’s 4s hit. They were a bit absurd at the time, too. Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook went full Canadian Tuxedo with them. They had the Levi’s tab on them, along with the Levi’s badge on the tongue. The blue denim pair is infinitely better than the black pair—don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. People were distressing their pairs. On the surface, the white pair is the worst of the bunch, but people like John Mayer started dying them. And people saw the light on the white denim 4s. But worn as is, and they’re not it, respectfully. But the indigo denim pair is so good that it elevated itself above all over shoes on this list (maybe). They have a gum sole, too. And that counts for something. —Matt Welty
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