Review: 43008 Nike Dunk x LEGO® Set

Earlier this year Nike and The LEGO Group announced a partnership promising sets, experiences, and more. The first step in the collaboration is the release of the Nike Dunk x LEGO® Set, a 1180 piece set celebrating one of Nike's most popular shoes, the Dunks. 

With a number of new elements including recolours, new moulds, and a new minifigure, let's see if this is a step in the right direction for Nike.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

43008 Nike Dunk x LEGO® Set 

• Release date: 1 July 2025, pre-order available now in New Zealand and Australia
• Pieces: 1180

Price: 

• US$ 99.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 129.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 89.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 149.99 on LEGO.com Australia, pre-order available now
• NZ$ 169.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand, pre-order available now
• DE€ 99,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
• NL€ 99,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
• FR€ 99,99 on LEGO.com France
• PLN .99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK ,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK .95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

 

New moulds

Slope Curved 3 x 1 x ⅔ (7302)

• Slope Curved 3 x 1 x 2/3 in Blue (6568267 | 7302) 
• Slope Curved 3 x 1 x 2/3 in Yellowish Green (6568266 | 7302)

The LEGO Group has really been spoiling us with new curved slopes recently! Tom Loftus' review of 75409 Jango Fett's Firespray-Class Starship looked at some such recent additions to the LEGO inventory, though they were much larger than this one.

We've seen them appear in the images of the upcoming LEGO® Speed Champions sets, where they prove very useful to represent the subtle curves in the cars' bodywork. 

Here's how the new curved slope (in blue above) compares to existing similarly sized parts. They are a very close match to the 1 x 4 curved slope (in green) provided they are positioned correctly as shown above lower right. I just wish I had filled that gap with a cheese slope!

The new curved slopes are the perfect partner for Wedge Curved 3 x 4 x 2/3 Cutout (11291), a piece that did feel like a bit of an orphan when it was introduced.. The 1x4 curved slopes we just mentioned would also work here, but now we have an element that fits perfectly with no overhang. What a neat little element combo!

Basketball Head (1217)

The second new mould is used as part of the exclusive B'Ball minifigure:

• 1x Minifig Head Special, Basketball in Orange with Sunglasses and Smile print (6552481 | 1217)

I might as well mention the rest of the new minifigure parts while I'm at it:

• Torso with 'LEGO SPORTS 32/NIKE 72' print in Dark Blue (6566268)
• Legs with Nike shorts and Dunks print in Dark Blue (6565381)

The dates of the torso refer to the years in which The LEGO Group and Nike first released products. I love the side printing on the legs to give the figure a pair of Dunk sneakers!

The B'Ball character seems to be a mascot created just for this product. Nike actually has an interesting and bizarre history of mascot characters. I'm holding out hope we'll see a minifigure of the glorious (and disastrous) Swooshman in a future set. (Watch this video from Nike for a strange piece of the brand's history!)

On to that new basketball element:

It's been almost 2 decades since we last saw a dedicated basketball element in sets. Recently, the Technic Ball Joint (32474) in orange has most commonly been used as a stand-in basketball. 

This new element closely resembles the basketball (43702) that appeared in the LEGO® Sports sets between 2003 and 2006, sharing the same moulded indentations to mimic the real thing. 

The tablescrap above shows the diameter of the head; 1.8 modules or 14mm. The image also shows the pin hole to attach accessories on the very top and centre of the head.

Whereas the old 43702 basketball elements were perfectly round and devoid of connection points, the new basketball head element features a neck hole to connect to a minifigure torso, which can double up as a connection point for a minifigure hand. 

Without the decorations, this could be a fun minifigure accessory: I hope an unprinted version of this element turns up in a LEGO® Minifigures character or in a LEGO® City set in the future.

Recolours

While the focus may be on the blue and white shoe, the majority of recolours in the set come in yellowish green, accounting for 9 of the set's total 17 recolours.

We have all manner of slopes...

• 3x Slope 45° 2 x 1 with Bottom Pin in Yellowish Green (6566893 | 3040b)
• 5x Slope Inverted 45° 2 x 1 in Yellowish Green (6566889 | 3665)

• 3x Slope 25° 1 x 8 x 3 in Yellowish Green (6566913 | 49618)
• 4x Slope 65° 2 x 1 x 2 in Yellowish Green (6566891 | 60481)
• 4x Brick Sloped 1 x 6 x 1 with 1 x 2 x 1/3 Cutout in Yellowish Green (6566910 | 4569)

...as well as an interesting mix of bricks, plates, and tiles.

• 4x Brick 2 x 2 Corner in Yellowish Green (6566888 | 2357)
• 7x Plate 1 x 6 in Yellowish Green (6566895 | 3666)
• 1x Plate Special 2 x 2 with Horizontal T-Bar Underneath in Yellowish Green (6567270 | 5066)
• 1x Tile 1 x 2 in Yellowish Green (6566886 | 3069b)

The colour yellowish green has been around for more than a decade, and it's a surprise that some of these basic elements, particularly the 45 degree slopes and tiles, have taken so long to appear in sets. 

Blue and white bricks actually make up a tiny portion of the recolours in this set.

• Technic Steering Hub for Portal Axle in Orange (6567263 | 92909)
• 1x Technic Steering Portal with 2 Pin Holes in White (6567264 | 11950, 28833)
• 2x Brick Round Corner 4 x 4 x 1 in White (6555317 | 5651)
• 2x Panel 4 x 4 x 3 Quarter Cylinder in Blue (6567049 | 4041)

Dark azure features prominently in the 'DUNK' logo, and we get a variety of slopes to create the bold font.

• 1x Brick Special 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 with 4 Studs on 1 Side in Dark Azure (6562690 | 22885)
• 3x Slope 75° 2 x 1 x 3 with Hollow Stud in Dark Azure (6555308 | 4460b)
• 4x Slope 75° 2 x 2 x 3 [Solid Studs] in Dark Azure (6564710 | 98560)
• 1x Slope Inverted 33° 3 x 1 with Internal Stopper and No Front Stud Connection in Dark Azure (6555316 | 4287c)

Decorations

New prints

All the Nike branding in the set comes in the form of printed elements:

• 1x Brick Curved 4 x 6 Double, 2 x 4 Cutout in White (6566809)
• 2x Slope Brick Curved 2 x 4 x 2/3 No Studs, with Bottom Tubes with print in Orange (6568648)
• 1x Tile 6 x 8 with Rounded Corners with print in Blue (6566810)

The various textures of the shoe are realised in both printed and stickered elements:

• 1x Windscreen 6 x 6 x 1 1/3 with Radiating Spots print in White (6552478)
• 1x Panel 4 x 4 x 3 Quarter Cylinder with Dunk Shoe Left Heel Tab print in White (6552479)
• 1x Panel 4 x 4 x 3 Quarter Cylinder with Dunk Shoe Right Heel Tab print in White (6552480)

Sticker sheet

The small sticker sheet provides decorations for a few of the textures and patterns of the shoe, most notably the laces, which use 16 stickers in total. I imagine some builders feeling a little frustration having to apply the same decal 16 times, however, as they are applied to the new 1x3 curved slopes, I'm not applying them: it frees them up for MOCs! Plus the lace stickers provide such a small detail, I think the finished model still looks good without them.

Rare elements

We usually categorise rare elements as those appearing in 3 sets or fewer. Here's a list of 17 elements in this set that fit that criteria, organised by rarity:

Currently appearing in 1 other set:

• 4 x Brick Curved 2 x 1 with Inverted Cutout in Bright Blue/ Blue (6523962 | 78666)
• 2 x Brick Round Corner 4 x 4 x 1 in Bright Blue/ Blue (6547109 | 5651)
• 2 x Plate 3 x 3 Corner in Bright Blue/ Blue (6430378 | 77844)
• 1 x Brick 2 x 2 in Spring Yellowish Green/ Yellowish Green (6544543, 6088538 | 3003)
• 2 x Slope 18° 2 x 1 x 2/3 in Dark Azure (6535522 | 5404)
• 5 x Slope Inverted 75° 2 x 1 x 3 in Dark Azure (6396286 | 2449)
• 2 x Tile 2 x 3 in Dark Azure (6535516 | 26603)
• 13x Slope Inverted 75° 2 x 1 x 3 in Yellowish Green (6546474 | 2449) – last seen 2017

In 2 other sets:

• 1 x Technic Axle Connector Smooth [with x Hole + Orientation] in Vibrant Coral/ Coral (6544409 | 59443)
• 14 x Brick 1 x 4 in Spring Yellowish Green/ Yellowish Green (6088536, 6382110 | 3010)
• 4 x Brick Round Corner 4 x 4 Macaroni Wide with 3 Studs in Spring Yellowish Green/ Yellowish Green (6108811 | 48092) last seen 2017

These elements appear in 3 other sets:

• 6 x Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Left in Bright Blue/ Blue (6477764, 6507847 | 5095)
• 6 x Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notch Right in Bright Blue/ Blue (6513909, 6477760 | 5093)
• 10 x Plate 1 x 1 in Spring Yellowish Green/ Yellowish Green (6069255, 6088518 | 3024)
• 4 x Technic Plate 1 x 5 with Smooth Ends, 4 Studs and Centre Axle Hole in Bright Red/ Red (6547141, 4118882 | 32124, 50029)

The build

The model is built in three sections: first the shoe, then the base, and finally the basketball, with separate instruction booklets for each. 

It’s hard not to compare it to a similarly themed product, 10282 adidas Originals Superstar. That set featured novel packaging, a gift-with-purchase, and—as with many collectible sets—an instruction booklet that began with a brief history of the subject matter. In contrast, the Dunk’s instructions receive far less fanfare, jumping straight into the build with no background information about the shoe or the Nike brand, which I found a little disappointing.

The overall construction of the shoe is quite simple, but satisfying, nevertheless. The build is mostly studs up with walls of brackets on either side to create the signature look and install that all important Nike swoosh.

There is more to this shoe than meets the eye! The toe pulls out to reveal a draw to keep the extra set of laces, the tongue pulls forward to reveal a small storage space, and the heel can be removed to provide a space for the B’Ball minifigure.

The shoe can be customized with 2 lace options: yellowish-green or blue. As mentioned, I chose not to apply the stickers.

The shoe sits at a nice dynamic angle thanks to a 2 x 2 square recess in the sole of the shoe to mount it on the base.

I love the look of the finished shoe: the build is clean, bold, and not overly reliant on printed or specialized elements to capture the look of the iconic shoe. It would make a neat set in its own right.

The base is built almost entirely with stacked bricks, but satisfaction comes from completing the bold italic sans-serif typeface of the DUNK letters. 

The LEGO Group have been doing a great job with brick-built logos recently. While this is nowhere near as complex as 76313 MARVEL Logo or 75407 Brick-Built Star Wars Logo, the result is just as impressive in its own way.

These days, an entirely stud-free sphere is possible—21357 Luxo Jr. pulled it off brilliantly, as revealed in Elspeth's review of set 21357—but I think the decision to preserve the studs here was a smart one. The texture not only provides a nice contrast to the smooth, almost completely studless shoe and DUNK logo, but also cleverly echoes the pebble-grain surface of a real basketball. The exposed studs are a welcome reminder that this is, after all, a LEGO model.

Cracking the basketball open reveals that it is more of a cube than a sphere. A LEGO® Technic core provides the connection points to attach its 6 faces. 

The finished model

The 3 elements of the model—shoe, ball, and the base—come together to make a bold and dynamic display piece.

There's not much to see at the back of the model—not a big deal, as it wasn't intended to be viewed from this angle, but we can see the mounting point for the basketball. 

A simple mechanism is fixed at a diagonal which features a long rod to attach the ball. Turning the opposite end of the rod spins the ball. It's a neat little feature that adds some playability to this display set.

Closing thoughts

I’m neither a basketball fan nor a sneakerhead, but I found this set surprisingly enjoyable. There’s something inherently fun about building something unexpected—like a shoe—out of LEGO bricks.

The model itself looks fantastic and is sure to appeal to sneaker collectors, basketball fans, and Nike enthusiasts alike. It’s also a clever build, featuring a customisation system, a neat storage compartment, and even a few moving parts to keep things dynamic.

Compared to other sets of a similar size (1180 pieces) and price (US$99.99/ £89.99/ 99.99€/ AU$149.99) in the LEGO catalogue, the 43008 Nike Dunk x LEGO® set offers reasonable value for money—especially when you consider the number of recoloured elements, exclusive prints, and the unique minifigure. It’s a well-designed, display-worthy model that brings something genuinely different to the table.

READ MORE: Monday 23 June 2025 is the last day of 2x VIP loyalty points for LEGO® Insiders

Pre-order (AU&NZ) or view on LEGO.com

 

Help New Elementary keep publishing articles like this. Become a Patron!

A huge thank you to all our patrons for your support, especially our 'Vibrant Coral' tier: London AFOLs, Antonio Serra, Beyond the Brick, Huw Millington, Dave Schefcik, David and Breda Fennell, Gerald Lasser, Baixo LMmodels, Sue Ann Barber and Trevor Clark, Markus Rollbühler, Elspeth De Montes, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Chuck Hagenbuch, Jf, Wayne R. Tyler, Daniel Church, Lukas Kurth (StoneWars), Timo Luehnen, Chris Wight, Jonathan Breidert, Brick Owl, BrickCats, Erin and Dale, Thunderdave, Jake Forbes and our newest top-tier patron, H.Y. Leung! You folks are better than inverted cheese slopes.

All text and images are ©2025 New Elementary unless otherwise attributed.