Nike knows it has a lot to live up to with the Hyperdunk 2016. When the first edition of the shoe originally debuted ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, both its look and performance quickly became the industry standard of what a contemporary basketball sneaker is supposed to be.
The Nike Hyperdunk 16 wants to carry the tradition of its most influential basketball shoe
Nike designer Leo Chang talks about what makes the Nike Hyperdunk 2016 stand out in a crowded market.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The release of the Hyperdunk 2016 coincides with the Rio Olympics, where you can find Paul George (among others) wearing the shoe as USA Basketball tries for its third straight gold medal. Nike believes George embodies the qualities the shoe strives to represent, namely speed, lateral cutting ability and elevation.
Nike designer Leo Chang spoke with SB Nation about the Hyperdunk 2016 two days before the Rio Olympics games get underway. He touched the shoe’s new design, the history of the Hyperdunk and what makes George the perfect pitchman.
The first thing that stands out about the shoe to me is the sock replacing where the tongue of the shoe would typically be. What was the thinking behind the Flynit sock on that and what are the benefits to it?
You said the word sock, and that was an inspiration point. We wanted to build a sock-like feel with the Flynit upper. The benefit of that is it’s really seamless. It’s pretty much a one-piece upper that engulfs your foot. But obviously you can’t play in a sock. How do you engineer it for the game of basketball? Make sure there’s still containment in it. The real benefits is the reduction in the amount of layers that go into the shoe.
As you mentioned, there’s no tongue on it. Basketball players move so much side to side. There’s a lot of times where you might even have a tongue that slides to the side over the course of the game or a few minutes. Things like just eliminating that distraction, that element that could interfere with your game is some of those benefits.
The cuff goes up high, too. There’s a lot of work around not only the comfort aspect of that but also proprioception. The way that it kind of hugs your ankle and makes you feel like there’s some compression and support around it.
These shoes are being released alongside the Rio Olympics. What’s the significance of that?
We debuted the original Hyperdunk in 2008 for the Olympics as well. We treat the Hyperdunk as our signature Nike basketball shoe. It’s our moment to shine and really showcase some great innovation with the product. It’s a great platform with the Olympics to debut that.
When I talk about the Hyperdunk being our signature shoe for basketball, the original Hyperdunk really set a great tone for us. It was the first time we put real composite upper technology into a shoe. That flipped the switch on the rest of the products in the line and affected the whole industry, really. Prior to that everything was leather or synthetic leather. It was a game-changer us and the industry.
The silhouette of it from an aesthetic standpoint was also very different at the time, which then became normal because of the Hyperdunk. You look at a lot of basketball shoes out there, you have that high front to really low in the back collar shape, a lot of that came from that era of the Hyperdunk. You can see why the competition started doing it, too.
I think the Hyperdunk means a lot to us. I just wanted to respect that and continue on with that legacy with this one.
Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
Paul George has been mentioned as someone whose style of play meshes with the shoe. Why Paul George and why is he a good fit to tie into the release of the shoe?
He’s great because we see the Hyperdunk as a shoe for that versatile player. The player that can do a little bit of everything -- a hybrid type player. That’s Paul George. He’s a great offensive player, he’s a great defensive player. He can play multiple positions. The way he moves is really efficient. He’s smooth but he can also jump out of the gym. He’s crazy.
I think he embodies the Hyperdunk player as someone who can do it all.
The shoe is supposed to be all about speed, lateral cutting and elevation. What about the shoe enhances those qualities?
We spoke a lot about the upper, I think naturally it’s lighter and there’s less layers that get in the way. That just feels a little closer to your foot so your reaction time can be faster. There’s just a lot less stuff in the way.
Underneath the foot is a full length ZoomAir airbag. That’s close to the foot, right underneath it, so you get that instant responsiveness that the Zoom is known for. It’s a great cushioning platform that we have with Nike. When you talk about that and you talk about speed and quickness, it goes hand in hand. Just that pop that you get with that Zoom gives you this explosive leaping ability.
See More:
