End of an Era: Nike’s Famed ‘Hyperdunk’ Line to be Replaced with the ‘AlphaDunk’

If you’re a hooper, or were a hooper sometime after the year 2008, then you should be familiar with the Nike Hyperdunk basketball line. For the first time since 2007, a new Hyperdunk installment will not be on store shelves this summer. Nike has chosen to stop production of its highly successful line of sneakers adhering to a wide range of basketball players, and opting to level-up to a new shoe: the Nike AlphaDunk. The Swoosh will introduce a new material on this AlphaDunk called AirKnit. The shoe will also feature forefoot zoom air.

I remember where I was when I first saw the original Nike Hyperdunk back in 2008. I was 14 at the time and at a basketball camp with my high school team. A team from out of the area walked in to the arena and the entire squad was wearing the all black colorway of the newly released Hyperdunk. Everyone wanted a peak at Nike’s latest and greatest shoe, their lightest basketball shoe ever and this new “flywire” technology. It also helped having Kobe Bryant be a key marketer of the new model with him “jumping” over an Aston Martin while wearing a Lakers colorway of the sneaker. I ended up sporting a white/red/black colorway of the Hyperdunks that 2008-09 season. All the way from modified teams up to varsity and college, players were wearing the Hyperdunks on the court in droves. A lot of your favorite NBA players like Kyrie Irving, Paul George, and Giannis Antetokounmpo wore Nike Hyperdunks on-court before getting their own signature sneaker. Take a look below at the 10-year run the successful Nike Hyperdunk line achieved as well as some players who wore them on the hardwood.