The Best Nike Dunks of All Time, Ranked

The Nike Dunk has represented many different things in its 40-plus year existence. It’s been a collectors item only attainable to international travelers, a performance skateboarding shoe, a fashion status symbol, and a go-to choice in post-pandemic cozy culture. To call the Nike Dunk a versatile sneaker would be an understatement.

But before the Nike Dunk became all of those aforementioned things, it was a performance basketball sneaker. In fact, we consider it to be the best team basketball shoe in NCAA tournament history. In honor of the 2026 NCAA Basketball Tournament’s arrival, we’re taking a closer look at one of the most important sneakers in college basketball history.

Let’s be clear here, though. We’re talking about the Dunk in its humble, original form—not the Nike SB Dunk. If you want to check our top Nike SB Dunks, there’s a list for that too. Here are the best Nike Dunks of all time, ranked.

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Year: 1985

A white and orange Nike Dunk doesn’t have quite the mass appeal of some of the other original “Be True To Your School” models, but it’s the most exciting of the white-based colorways. The “Syracuse” Dunk has returned a handful of times over the years in both high and low-cut iterations, including the suede Nike SB variation in 2005. It’s a simple and effective formula, and showcases the effectiveness of the original Dunk design. —Zac Dubasik

Year: 2004

Aloha! The Hawaiian islands have quite the legacy when it comes to Nike Dunks. The one that kicked it all off was the 2004 “Aloha” Dunks in collaboration with now-defunct sneaker store Kicks/Hi. It was ran by Ian Ginoza, a sneaker industry veteran, who’s had his hands on a wide array of brands and hyped projects, who currently works at Converse. The sneaker is a mix of materials and colors, including suede and a basket-like woven texture on the side panel. The green on the toe pops off the brown, and the sneakers really stand out. I remember these being big on NikeTalk back in the day. Don’t see them as much anymore, but it’s certainly one of the shoes that gave the Dunk a second life. —Matt Welty

Year: 2021

This entrant isn’t necessarily resemblant of one sneaker, it essentially is standing in for all 50 of Virgil Abloh’s numbered Dunks that dropped in 2021. All 50 pairs featured primarily subdued colors, but they boasted unique overlaces, different materials, variant number plates, and other small distinctions to help differentiate them. The true heroes of the collection were Lot 1 and Lot 50 that stuck out from the other 48—Lot 1 was dressed in premium white leather with a creamy outsole and silver Swoosh, and Lot 50, seen here, was decked out in black with a signature purple number plate. At the time, the collection was met with some mixed feelings, but looking back on it five years later, it’s one of the more impressive feats in modern sneaker releases in my opinion. Pairs dropped on SNKRS in shifts essentially, with exclusive access going out at random. You’ve got 50 pairs to choose from for this entry, so take your pick. —Ben Felderstein

Year: 2001

Nike’s “Plum” Dunk originally released exclusively in Japan in 2001 as part of what’s known as the “Ugly Duckling” pack—a series of sneakers that also included the “Veneer” and “Ceramic” Dunks, and was named for its unconventional all-suede colorways. The whole pack is remembered fondly these days, but the purple-toned “Plum” stands out as the clear favorite. It returned for the first time in the form of a Nike SB High in 2011, before finally getting a true-to-original retro during the Dunk craze of 2020, and again just a few years later in 2024. It may have seemed a little wild for a Dunk when it originally released, but the “Plum” Dunk foreshadowed what was to come with Dunk colors and materials in the decades that followed. —Zac Dubasik

Year: 2002

The “Viotech” Dunks came at a key moment for the silhouette, during a time when you really had to be outside (ideally in Japan) to understand the impact. The mix of suede and bold multicolor paneling wasn’t as common as it is today, which helped the pair stand out. A lot of people (including myself) point to the Bapesta and early patent leather Air Force 1s as the reason sneakers became more expressive, but the “Viotech” carries similar weight. It arrived around the Pro B era, which laid the foundation for what Nike SB would become. The shoe has returned in different forms over the years, but the original still feels like a blueprint. —Douglas Jase

Year: 2001

To be honest, the “Argon” Nike Dunk Low isn’t the loudest and doesn’t have a super deep history outside of the CO.JP era, but that’s kind of the point. CO.JP Dunks are like Pokémon cards—each one matters for a different reason. The “Argon” is easily one of my favorite Dunk colorways. Originally released in 2001, with a retro release back in 2022, I feel like it got slightly snubbed from that 2020 Nike Dunk era. Either way the different blue hits on each side give it just enough variation while still being wearable, and it’s a pair I still get compliments on. —Douglas Jase

Year: 2003

In the early 2000s, Nike’s move was to collaborate with graffiti writers who made a big name for themselves in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Amongst them was Futura, Stash, and Haze. The latter, Eric Haze, was known for his classic graffiti writing style. In 2003, he designed two Dunks, one High and one Low, which were an inverse of each other. The low-top was mainly black with a white fade, and the high-top was a white shoe with a black fade. I like the High more, and Joe likes the Low more. There were friends and family pairs that came in a special box designed by the artist—those are super rare (and expensive) these days. His writing on the tongue tag of the shoe was something new at the time and groundbreaking for Nike in that early-on limited shoe era. —Matt Welty

Year: 2005

This is the only Dunk on the list that doesn’t have a liner on it. This isn’t the first Undefeated Dunk collaboration, but it’s probably the best known. The colorway on this shoe broke the mold. In 2005, this sneaker was the epitome of hypebeast/streetwear style. The colorway shouldn’t work: brown, light blue, pink, green. But it goes. The sneaker also doesn’t have a liner on it, so it’s just raw leather, like a boot. It’s also a Dunk that Travis Scott wore in his 2020s Dunk run. Undefeated referenced the colorway on its 2022 Air Force 1 collection. A lot of Dunks look the same, these, that they only made 5,000 pairs of, don’t. —Matt Welty

Year: 2021

If sales volume and ubiquity in popular culture were the only parameters taken into account when making this list, it’s very possible that the “Panda” Dunk could have landed at #1. The sneaker has turned into a meme these days, spawning countless knockoffs while becoming StockX’s most resold sneaker of all time. At its heart though, the “Panda” Dunk is a pretty great shoe, invoking Be True To Your School vibes with its OG-style color blocking and simple two-tone colorway. If we love the all-white Air Force 1 for its versatility, then credit needs to be given where it’s due here, too. Sure, we’ve seen a little too much of the “Panda” Dunk to get too excited about it, but it’s hard to deny its importance to modern sneaker culture. —Zac Dubasik

Year: 2020

Cactus Plant Flea Market is known for its wild designs that push the boundaries of what a sneaker can be. From shoes covered in green fur to blobby shaped sneakers that look like stylized rock climbing equipment, CPFM’s collaborations have never been accused of being boring. Taking that into account, the Swarovski crystal-covered Dunks are relatively tame. But in comparison with the rest of the list, they’re right back to wild. And that’s what makes the design stand out so much—it’s unmistakably something very special, yet still wearable enough to function as a sneaker rather than an art piece. —Zac Dubasik

Year: 2001

When it comes to Nike Dunks, CO.JP pairs hold a special place in sneaker history. The idea of region-exclusive releases helped shape the way brands approach drops today. What started as limited releases in Japan has now become a global standard, especially for collaborations. The Nike Dunk “Brazil” is a perfect example of that impact. When it was first released, it carried real weight. The colorway felt like a team shoe at a time when Brazilian football was dominating the global stage. Pair that energy with premium materials and you have something timeless. When it returned in 2020, it sparked the usual conversation around whether anything in sneakers is still sacred. Even so, the timing worked in its favor. Dunks were everywhere, the Panda colorway was taking over, and the silhouette was arguably the shoe of the year. The “Brazil” still managed to cut through the noise. Today, the resale price sits around $100 and up, which some might see as a drop in value. But, it remains a recognizable classic—the kind of shoe that still gets a nod from those who know. Even with newer takes like the reverse colorway and collaborations like Supreme’s “By Any Means” Dunk, the original “Brazil” has not lost its place. The legacy is still there. It just exists in a different era. If anything, it makes me hope that feeling around releases like this can come back again. —Douglas Jase

Year: 2004

Some might say that this is Pharrell’s best sneaker ever. And it’s his only Nike. In 2004, it was part of the Artist Series collection which also included shoes from Halle Barry, ESPO, Mr Cartoon, and Futura. Pharrell’s Dunk High stands out, even though it’s such a simple shoe. It’s a black leather high top, with red laces and the N.E.R.D. brain on the heel. It’s funny that this wasn’t an SB in some, because it fits right into that program. After this shoe, Pharrell would go over to Reebok and create the BBC/Ice Cream legacy. He’d also go on to make some BAPEs. So the Nike is a bit of an outlier, but one of his most sought-after shoes now. Some pairs go for as much as $2,000. —Matt Welty

Year: 1985

These are the Jerry Tarkanians. The legendary coach of the UNLV Runnin Rebels basketball team was at the helm of the program when they became a Nike school. The other schools in the program at the time were Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Syracuse, St. John’s, and Georgetown. All of the schools, except the latter, got a Nike Dunk as part of the brand’s Be True to Your School program‚—a riff off of the Beach Boys’ song. Anyway, I personally like these best. They’re better than the St. John’s which is just white and red. The grey really sets these off. They’ve been flipped in a reverse colorway for an “Ultraman” Dunk too, which is just as good to some. But I like these the most. They got remixed in 2005 as an SB Dunk as well. And the legend of this shoe lives on. —Matt Welty

Year: 1985

Michigan Basketball has a sneaker history matched by few teams. The program has been with Jordan Brand since the school announced a new partnership with Nike in 2015 following a period with Adidas. In the years since, we’ve been treated to both performance and retro exclusives, including the coveted “Fab 5” Air Jordan 5. Then there are the shoes actually worn by the Fab 5 back in the early ‘90s—like the Air Flight Huarache and Air Force Max—when they helped define “cool” both on and off the court. Before all that though was the maize and blue Nike Dunk from the original “Be True To Your School” pack. It’s been back many times throughout the years in both high and low cut versions, including the suede Nike SB version from 2005, and it’s been a hit each and every time. If not for a seminal rap group’s take on the Iowa Dunk, this might have been #1. —Zac Dubasik

Year: 1985/1999

Dunks have employed a wide array of materials, prints, and colors over the years, but the original two-tone “Be True To Your School” colorways in leather have a timeless quality that represents the model better than any other variation. The “Iowa” Dunk, in particular, is immediately recognizable as a Hawkeyes colorway, but can transcend school fandom to have a general fashion appeal too. Then, in 1999, it was used as the base model for another “team” of sorts that’s known for its use of black and yellow: the Wu-Tang Clan. Without the Wu-Tang association, would the “Iowa” Dunk still have been #1? It’d have likely been a toss up between that and the “Michigan” Dunk. It does have the Wu-Tang association though, which put it over the top and secured the #1 ranking. That little logo, roughly one square inch on the heel, added an element of intrigue to an already top-tier sneaker, and propelled it past sneaker culture and into both pop culture and music history. —Zac Dubasik

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