“Design can put a dream on paper, so to speak, but it’s development and manufacturing that turn the dreams into reality.”- Aaron Cooper
After breaking new ground with the 2001 Nike Zoom Hyperflight, the objective was to maintain an innate sense of speed while building on a need for support. Continuing the Zoom lineage of the basketball shoe as an object of beauty, the Nike Zoom Ultrafight was the byproduct of absolute performance and total reduction. Half tradition, half amazing, this was one shoe with two distinct styles — an expected, premium leather side and a defiantly tech side. The development team managed to skillfully merge TPU, mesh and traditional fabrics seamlessly. Through pure experimentation and a conviction to manufacture the seemingly impossible, the shoe became a reality. Twinned with a perfect balance of the huh? factor and classicism, Nike Basketball created its own challenge — beat that.
Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K4, 2004
“The idea was to bring back classic basketball design principles in a very modern way.”- Eric Avar
To understand how far Nike had pushed the language of basketball shoe design, by 2004 experimentation had almost become a norm, meaning a clean, classic look appeared downright subversive. Balancing modern and classic was the Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K4’s purpose, and Eric Avar and the team had a new kind of player in mind, operating in a zone that was neither Force, Flight nor Uptempo. In the resulting design, the Phylon sole and Zoom Air responsiveness, alongside an evolved version of the Huarache ankle support, combined to become a player and fan favorite. The Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K4 also enjoyed time on the global center stage while being showcased on the feet of USA basketball athletes. There’s a reason it took several years for another shoe to earn the right to carry the Huarache moniker. With a sleek silhouette that shifted the prevailing mindset, as well as an influence that can still be seen today on Nike Basketball shoes, the Nike Air Zoom Huarache 2K4 sent basketball design down yet another new path.
Nike Air Max 360 Basketball, 2006
“You learn from every project that you do, but I can’t think of many other projects where we learned so much.”- Tracy Teague
While the game of basketball was certainly evolving into a faster, up-and-down game, there was still a player who earned his paycheck with his back to the basket and under the boards. Max Air was always the platform for those athletes who appreciated some assistance on their return to terra firma. Behind the scenes, a brief to apply a variation of the Air Max 360’s running bag to a basketball shoe created multiple challenges. Engineers scrutinized the cage to evolve it from linear movement to the lateral movement demands of basketball. Pillar placement necessitated extra alterations as well in order to ensure support where it mattered. The Nike Air Max 360’s ultimate triumph was in taking away the midsole completely, but where the 360 project also excelled was in instigating even more specific basketball-centric innovation along similar lines. The LeBron 7’s carefully-honed full-length Air application, free of obstructions, was created on the 360 assignment’s learnings to reinforce Nike Basketball’s dominance.
