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Nike Announces Release Dates For Jordan Gamma 11s and Bugs Bunny 8s

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jason C. Jones | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 7:28 PM ET

The king of the sneaker world announced two highly anticipated releases scheduled for the vague “Holiday 2025”. As it turns out, the Air Jordan 11 “Gamma” will be released on December 13 while the Air Jordan 8 “Bugs Bunny” is scheduled to release seven days later on December 20.

On the surface this should seem like sneakerhead catnip. With so many shoes being released in 2025 by Nike, one would think this is great news. The potential of scoring the Gamma 11s and the Bugs Bunny 8s absolutely moves the sneakerhead needle. The concern is that it does not allow consumers to recover.

Grails are typically what gets someone into becoming a sneakerhead to begin with. For the uninitiated, a “Grail” (as in “holy grail”) is a shoe an individual sneakerhead puts an irrationally high value on. In many cases a shoe will have limited quantities, usually high priced, rare or hard to find. It also suggests an all consuming need to find and purchase said shoe. In either case, the Gamma 11s or the Bugs Bunny 8s are both models most sneakerheads will want to buy. With many of those millions of people viewing either or both as a personal grail. Think Captain Ahab pursuing Moby Dick.

The Space Jam connection is curious. Neither shoe technically falls under a colorway from the 90s film. However, there is a connection. The Jordan 8 began an affection for Looney Tunes, which many have speculated was a test balloon for a future Warner Bros project.

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The 8s have two primary colorways that lead the rest. The Aqua (releasing in July) and Bugs Bunny. The ones tied to the affectionate animated rabbit is essentially the 8s white version with reds and greys throughout. The Aqua is the mostly black version. Three years later, Nike would release the Jordan 11.

Which would go on to become the single most iconic sneaker in human history. In the movie Space Jam, the mostly black Jordan 11s seen in that movie would take on that name. “The Space Jam 11s”. The Gamma is not that exactly. The outsole and logo details are ‘gamma blue’, but the rest of it is almost the Space Jam 11s. Making this release date quandary interesting to say the least.

Both grails, the Bugs Bunny 8s and the Gamma 11s, will assuredly sell out virtually immediately due to the demand of these specific colorways. If regular sneakerheads hope to secure these, it will be a rough November-December and they are advised to prepare for what feels like a double release or a ‘pack’ release. Come December, sneakerheads have the opportunity to check two grails off their list of must haves.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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