Frank Cooke just went on Instagram and teased the return of the Nike Air Raid II. This is a big deal since Nike never gave the ’90s basketball shoe a proper retro release. Ever since Cooke went back to work at the Beaverton campus, his social feeds have been a goldmine for early footwear leaks. Teasing the heel of the original “Urban Jungle Gym” colorway takes the cake, though.
This version—also known as the “Live Together, Play Together” colorway—gained legendary status back in the mid-1990s due to those wild, colorful Afrocentric patterns Spike Lee showcased in his iconic outdoor streetball commercials.
The hype makes complete sense when you look back at the history of the sneaker line. Nike engineered the original Air Raid specifically to handle rough asphalt courts, even stamping “for outdoor use only” right on the shoe itself. The very first model has been brought back to retail shelves a few times over the decades, but the Air Raid II has been locked away deep in the brand’s archives without a single re-release until now.
Nike hasn’t dropped official release dates or retail pricing just yet. Still, Cooke’s teaser image shows the design team is actively working on the silhouette again. Sneaker production schedules are incredibly long, so if they are just in the early development phase, a realistic launch window is likely around late 2027 or early 2028.
Check out detailed images of the original Nike Air Raid II below, and stay tuned for further release updates.
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