Air Jordan 9 Space Jam Drops Today, Film Turns 30

The Air Jordan 9 Space Jam is back on shelves. Jordan Brand reissued the white, black, and true red classic today, Saturday, September 19, 2026, at 10 a.m. ET, marking the first time the OG colorway has reached stores since 2016 and the sixth retro since the colorway first appeared in 1993. Adult pairs retail for $215. The launch covers full family sizing, with grade school pairs at $165, preschool at $85, and toddler at $65.

The timing is deliberate. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Space Jam, the 1996 film that paired Michael Jordan with Bugs Bunny and introduced the Tune Squad to audiences far beyond basketball. To mark the occasion, every pair of the 2026 release ships in special anniversary packaging: a galaxy-covered box carrying the Tune Squad logo on the lid, with the gym where Jordan practiced with the Looney Tunes printed on the inside of the lid.

According to Sole Retriever, the box also carries a message honoring the anniversary, reading: "In 1996, the film Space Jam united two icons, Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny, in a cultural moment that defined a generation. The AJ9 and AJ11, both featured on screen, became legends in their own right. Now, 30 years later, Jordan Brand celebrates the film's enduring legacy and MJ's timeless impact with the return of these classic silhouettes." The box keeps a spacey purple palette finished with Nike Air branding, built to echo the film's cosmic look, according to Sports Illustrated's FanNation. The lid also carries Space Jam and Jumpman 30th anniversary marks, the detail that ties the whole package to the milestone year.

Shoppers can buy the shoe through the Nike SNKRS app, nike.com, Foot Locker, and select Jordan Brand retailers. JD Sports offered early access earlier in the week, with in-store pickup on Tuesday and online access on Wednesday, according to House of Heat. Retailers are listing the shoe under two different style codes, IX6179-100 and HV4794-106, so Men's Journal notes that buyers should search both to make sure they find a listing.

A shape closer to the 1993 original

Jordan Brand also changed the 2026 version beyond the colorway. The brand reshaped the silhouette to sit closer to the original 1993 build, moving away from the rounder retro shape used in recent reissues. White leather covers most of the upper. Black leather wraps the mudguard and climbs up to the collar. True red accents land on the tongue, the heel "23," and the Jumpman branding underfoot. The model was designed by Tinker Hatfield, who gave the 9 its distinctive global-themed details.

The colorway first released in 1993, when it was simply known as the "White Black Red" OG. It has been reissued four times since, in 2002, 2008, 2010, and 2016, and the 2016 version was the first to officially carry the "Space Jam" name. The 2026 Air Jordan 9 Space Jam is the sixth release overall. For longtime collectors, the reworked shape is the notable detail, because it is the closest this colorway has come to the 1993 version in a decade. Readers tracking other Jordan drops this month can catch up on the first-ever AJ11 collaboration that landed this week.

Early pairs and the resale market

The Oklahoma Sooners football team got a head start on the release. The program showed off the upcoming colorway on social media, set to the Space Jam theme song, before its game against UTEP on Friday night, according to reporting from Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Jordan Brand has long used college partnerships to preview big releases, and the Sooners are one of the program's most visible partners.

Pairs reached the resale market well ahead of the official drop. StockX recorded an average sale price of $287 across 32 sales over the last three months, according to the DraftKings Network. That number gives bargain hunters a baseline for what the open market thought the shoe was worth before retail went live. If the economics of limited drops interest you, our look at sneaker culture's obsession with limited editions breaks down why prices move the way they do.

The release also arrives later than originally planned. Jordan Brand had the shoe on the calendar for earlier this summer, but pushed it to September, according to HotNewHipHop, lining the drop up with the anniversary and landing it on one of the busiest release weekends of the fall.