A Sneakerhead’s Take on 43008 Nike Dunk x LEGO Set

Today’s guest article comes from Richard Dryden, a builder who has competed on LEGO Masters and helped create the Awesome Black Creativity project.

How Basketball Can Save the World

“Dutch Sociologist Johan Huizinga published his seminal work Homo Ludens, explaining that play has always been a safe, sublime, and necessary space for us to find relief from the difficulty of the human condition. Play, as illuminated by Huizinga, delivers a free voluntary experience, disinterested in material gain and separate from the sprawling incomprehensibility of life. Play gives order to that incomprehensibility with clear rules and limits on time, locality, and duration where we can live out real human vices and virtues - teamwork, sacrifice, cooperation, selfishness, risk, courage, cowardice, grace under pressure, winning, losing - without the real-life consequences of life and death, profit and loss. Play, according to Huizinga, is freedom itself. What better human sanctuary has ever evolved than pure play?"

- Excerpt from How Basketball Can Save The World by David Hollander (2022) 

From Brooklyn to Bricks: A Sneakerhead’s Journey

My roadmap to writing about the Nike Dunk x LEGO set was 30 years in the making. In 1995, the voices of the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Raekwon the Chef rattled the two LEGO sets sitting on top of my speaker: Spyro’s Recon Robot and Space Police. A Nike poster of Michael Jordan soaring from the free-throw line at the 1988 All-Star game hung above my bed. The byproducts of my youth decorated my room, creating a roadmap to my future.

Little did I know, I was on my way to taking a leave of absence from playing with LEGO. My love for music, sneakers, basketball, video games, and fashion took hold of my attention. Back then, my beloved plastic bricks that clicked together in the most unimaginable ways just didn’t cross over into the other interests for a kid hailing from a gritty section of Brooklyn.

I bought the Nike SB Dunk Low “Broncos” back when you could casually stroll into Supreme New York on Lafayette St. on a random afternoon; no waiting in line either. Technics turntables not included.

My late introduction to skateboarding–during my senior year of high school–exposed me to a brand new world of sneaker collecting. My new obsession with skateboarding was different from the years-long dominance of basketball shoes, specifically Air Jordan, in the marketplace. I discovered Nike Skateboarding on the internet in 2002, the year in which Nike launched the subsidiary line. 

Nike Be True to Your School advertisement via Nike.

The Dunk was derived from blending the aesthetics of Nike’s Legend (1984), Terminator (‘85), and AJ1 (1985). The Dunk High’s debut in the ‘85-’86 college basketball season via the Be True campaign set the sneaker on a course of ubiquity in a range of eight colors. The Dunk eventually faded away from hoops and into the bargain bin. Skateboarders picked Dunks for their low price and flat soles. 

Flash forward to 2002, Nike Skateboarding launched, offering low-profile signature models for professional skaters Gino Ianucci, Danny Supa, Richard Mulder and Reese Forbes. Nike SB became the cool brand using the Dunk as a canvas for experimentation. Almost two decades after the Dunk’s debut, designers used materials like hemp, perforated leather or patent leather to reimagine the vintage silhouette. Collaborations became synonymous with the Dunk, from MF Doom to De La Soul to their collaborations with skate brands like Supreme, Zoo York, and Chocolate. 

Some of my friends and DJs in nightlife put me on to the streetwear boutiques that were akin to the downtown skate shops. SoHo in the early 2000s, you could do a walking tour of Supreme, Clientele, Classic Kicks, Nom De Guerre, and NORT/Recon without breaking a sweat; throw in Alife, and Rivington Club if you were adventurous to hit up the Lower East Side. It wasn’t until I got my internship at Complex magazine in 2005 that I was able to report on the creativity in design that was poured into footwear, which turned it into the fashionable hype machine of youth culture.

“Believe it when you see it, on the store shelf,” is what I reminded myself every time an AI-generated Nike x LEGO sneaker image infiltrated my social media feed. It started with one random post in 2023, which turned into a years-long weekly routine of waking up to hair-brained ideas of what sneakers or luxury watches made from LEGO would look like. With no remorse, I crushed the hopes and dreams of friends and family when I debunked their speculation about a LEGO version of Nike SB’s Ben and Jerry’s collaboration, or a black Air Jordan IV. Say hello to the bad guy.

Brick-Built Kicks

Since 2021, I’ve been gifted with knowledge that came from the experience of competing on the LEGO Masters USA reality TV show (Season 2). My fairly close proximity to the LEGO brand and friendship with other talented builders gave me insight about the brick that most consumers aren’t privy to. I could tell at first glance there was something off, looking at the ridiculously dense amount of parts AI used to dream up those brick-built kicks; the loose pieces in the images were often a mashup of random elements that don’t even exist in the LEGO library. 

I felt like my skepticism about imaginary LEGO collaborations was justified, yet the demand for more buildable sneakers made from LEGO was real. Five years ago, when the LEGO Group announced a multi-year partnership with Adidas, we didn’t have AI-LEGO on our mood board. It was natural that a collaboration with the German sportswear company would produce a full line of co-branded products from football (soccer) kits (jerseys) to basketball sneakers. Meanwhile, there was probably a contingent of AFOLs grumbling about why this partnership and not more LEGO Star Wars. Pandering to the core fan base isn’t always the priority. Luring new fans (ahem…KIDS) to create a new building experience is what’s made the brick span generations.

3563 NBA Collectors #4 photo via Brickset

Take a deeper dive into the LEGO archive, and you could dust off those old LEGO Sports sets from 2000-2007. Their seven-year run of hockey, skateboarding, and basketball themes put The LEGO Group’s fingerprints on global pastimes, which also overlapped with events like the FIFA World Cup. Out of all the celebrity fans the LEGO Group earned in the twilight of LEGO Sports was David Beckham. To me, Becks was the biggest name professing his love for LEGO then, and still is to this day. Professional athletes across all sports now have had a similar watershed moment collecting their first sets like Beckham’s building of the Taj Mahal. If the influence of a sports superstar can sell water to a whale, then look no further than Michael Jordan. Better yet, in this case, the brand that gave us MJ — Nike.

Display case of grails at Nom De Guerre, NYC: Nike Air Force 1 Low The Black Album, Nike Dunk SB Supreme High, Nike Dunk High N.E.R.D., Nike SB Dunk High “Lucky”

The obsession of collecting sneakers and LEGO have caught up to each other. Both items are bought and resold for double and triple their original retail price. StockX, eBay, and GOAT, known to be the last resort for sneaker buyers after missing out on a drop, are now go-to destinations for buyers looking for hard-to-find or retired LEGO sets. Between the hoarding habits of footwear buyers and resellers, therein lies a modus operandi: “one to rock and one to stock.” AFOLs snatching up two versions of the same Star Wars Millennium Falcon can relate.

And as of 2025, it is wise for The LEGO Group to bolster its place in footwear, particularly in order to get in front of the AI-LEGO trend, Mattel’s Brick Shop venture, and the handful of independent sneaker brick companies. MOC builders have set precedents for a high level of creativity, cobbling together parts like actual shoemakers. Builders like Tom Yoo, Alex “Orion Pax” Jones, and Aaron Newman (before competing on LEGO Masters and before landing a job at the LEGO Group) have all made well-sculpted kicks. 

Nike Dunks MOC by Aaron Newman

The fear and loathing of walking on LEGO bricks feels like a joke that just won’t go away. The latest solution, to put Nike Air in your soles, is beyond a metaphorical solution to anyone wishing to float above the studs. In the LEGO Group’s second foray into elevating play through sports, the company is reaching for new heights with Nike, the number one sports and apparel company in the world. “Nike is powering the future of youth sport—with the vision of an active, inclusive world that inspires all youth to play and achieve their greatest potential,” says Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP and Chief Impact Officer, NIKE, Inc. Nike’s press release unveiling a slate of events at LEGOLAND California, London, and China on and around International Day of Play (June 11) shows the commitment Nike and the LEGO Group have made to creative play, not just sports.

However, as of March 2025, Nike’s quarterly results reported the biggest decline in revenue in five years. Speculation has also loomed around the lack of innovation at Nike. “It needs to create a whole new franchise, like a family of products that add billions in sales,” said Morningstar investment researcher David Swartz about Nike’s challenge (via Reuters). Meanwhile, in 2023, the market share of Adidas climbed to 8.9% from 8.2%. Enter the brick, with potential to boost innovation to the Swoosh through play sets, to footwear, to apparel, to sporting goods

Dunking the Design

43008 Nike Dunk x LEGO checks all the boxes for being a comprehensive LEGO set design in its storytelling, iconography, and technical play features. I was fully immersed in the roots of Nike Basketball and Nike Skateboarding while building the Dunk High in the “Game Royal” colorway. Some backstory about the Dunk in one of the three instruction booklets would have added a nice touch for the storied shoe. That aside, no matter which angle of the sneaker first grabs your attention, it is going to be a smooth one.

Unlike a brick-built sneaker, real or AI, this official Nike LEGO Dunk is intended to be a seamless construction that uses very specific parts to get every angle sculpted just right. Lots of SNOT brackets on the inside and outside panels of the Dunk help scale up the sneaker. The studs-out on the brackets leave room to color the accent part of the shoe in blue and white using a variety of angled and straight-edged tile shapes. It’s satisfying to have printed parts for the toe box, the tongue label, and the heel—the areas you don’t want to have crooked sticker placements. Stickers for the laces are fine, no further comment there.

In case anyone forgot that the Dunk was a 40-year-old shoe for hooping, the basketball sculpture will remind you of its origin. Every AFOL’s go-to building technique, the Lowell sphere, is the inspiration behind this new version. The combination of Technic liftarms, axle connectors, and pins rethink how big a LEGO sphere could be while also enhancing it for movement. In basketball terms, this new spin on the Lowell sphere is like the evolution of Allen Iverson’s crossover to Kyrie Irving’s.

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Like any LEGO set, it’s also a display piece. But both Nike and LEGO are synonymous with the mission to meet form with functionality. The inside of the shoe houses our B’Ball Head minifigure, and it's a stash spot for small everyday items from keys to wireless headphones. The modification capabilities go beyond recoloring. In my own pursuit of building the Air Jordan 1 Shattered Dreams last year, I was inspired by sculptures by Original Rose (FKA Bodega Rose) and Honoroller who both mixed Nike Dunks with plants and flowers. Since building 43008, I’ve thought about a recolor MOC version of the T19 Dunk, my favorite Nike SB Dunk of all time.

A Minifig Mascot

The B’Ball Head minifig deserves the spotlight, too. Why else would it be wearing sunglasses? Nike campaigns are often accompanied by a fun character (i.e., Mars Blackmon, RayGun, Lil Penny). The “DUNK” signage is in line with worded displays like Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture for LEGO Art.

Building out “DUNK” caps off the high-impact energy of the set. It is the exclamation point, which is actually built on a base that is shaped like the emphatic punctuation mark. Looking at it will conjure memories of Nike’s history of graphic design with stylized logos and typefaces for the Air Max and ACG. 

Having seen a lot of brick-built sneakers, this set goes deeper into the bag of parts to make the shoe. With all due respect to the builders who’ve made stellar brick-built kicks, 43008 is much different in concept. The sneaker is a 180-degree turn from the kicks circulating the internet. Creating the Swoosh logo uses a range of tiles: the triangular Tile, Modified 2 x 2, a couple of 2 x 2 corner cutouts, and a 1 x 6 tile.

It’s the sweet spot on the iconic logo that contrasts with the technique of stacking 1x2 plates diagonally to design the Swoosh. Brick-built branding is the new “it” thing, which comes as no surprise (see Star Wars 75407). The name of the model is not necessary, but it does add to the 1,180 parts count, while differentiating it from the many other Nike Dunk MOCs, especially the AI versions.

Comparing LEGO Sneaker Styles

I don't love the wearable Nike Air Max Dn x LEGO sneaker, yet. I hope to try it on in the future to see how comfortable those much-hyped four tubular air units feel. The design in and of itself is a safe direction for both brands, yet the silhouette and color are still a bit too familiar of the Adidas ZX8000. In all fairness, both styles are leading models for running or everyday wear. The first shoe from the Adidas partnership took inspiration from the primary color palette of LEGO bricks.

I was disappointed in the 2x3 lace lock that was not in system; the Ultraboost DNA runner did include interchangeable 2x2 plates for the three-stripe logo. Was the yellow colorway the most popular from the ZX series? The only exciting visual on the Air Max Dn is the printing on the air unit. Will we see more of the new Air Max Dn x LEGO character? The Swoosh and 2x3 brick logo lockup is really the highlight for me here.

As for a prospective wearable Dunk, the reveal of the Sketch Dunk, an all-white Dunk Low, with bold pop-art styled outlines along the seams brings the creative spirit to one of the most versatile shoes in Nike’s canon of footwear inviting customization (see above minifigure holding paint palette). The design brought back memories of the Nike Air Max 1 Sketch to Shelf, and Air Force 1 Schematic/Sketch. A more direct inspiration has to be Puma’s 917 model. From Roy Lichtenstein halftone dots, to Andy Warhol’s multi-color hues, Puma wanted to make art out of the sneaker and vice versa. 

Imagine a 1v1 between the B’Ball Head minifigure and the Roswell Rayguns mascot. I think the Roswell Rayguns were cut from the same cloth as LEGO Blacktron Future Generation and a bit of Alien Conquest. Note the years on B’Ball Head’s jersey read 32 on the front and 72 on the back, likely a nod to the years the LEGO Group and Nike were founded, respectively.

My first and only original sneaker concept I planned to submit to Nike, with consultation from my college friend and now major footwear designer Mache.

Why LEGO x Nike Is Bigger Than Sneakers

You don’t have to care about sneakers to see the significance of Nike and the LEGO Group’s collaboration. Designers in the fashion industry have used LEGO as an accessory or as a material for couture pieces. LEGO bricks are a ubiquitous material thanks to their pops of color or their sculpting potential to mold to the body. It takes imagination or the will to push oneself, or work within a team to produce only the best. This aspirational ethos is what fuels athletes; it's what fuels builders; it is what powers imagination.

I’m excited, actually, for year two of Nike X LEGO. As a basketball fan and New York Knicks loyalist, I’m excited to see college, WNBA, and NBA players endorsing LEGO products, considering the growing trend of hoopers building with bricks. Three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson has been tapped as one of Nike’s signature athletes set to support the new partnership. Let’s see 2024-25 Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson get in on the action. New York always comes through with clutch power.

43008 Nike Dunk x LEGO Set will be available starting July 1st for around US $100 | EU €100 | CA $130 | UK £90 | AU $150.

DISCLAIMER: This set was provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

What sneakers should LEGO make next? Let us know in the comments below!

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