If you were hanging out at a local skate shop in 2007, you probably saw something that looked like a tragic accident in a crayon factory. It was the Nike What The Dunk. At first glance, it makes zero sense. One shoe doesn't match the other. There are textures of elephant print fighting against safari spots, neon greens clashing with deep reds, and embroidery that looks like it was stolen from three different eras of design. It’s loud. It’s obnoxious. Honestly, it’s kind of a mess.
But that’s exactly why we're still talking about it nearly two decades later.
The "What The" concept didn't start as a marketing gimmick or a way to sell overstock materials. It was a victory lap. By 2007, Nike SB (the skateboarding division) had effectively saved the Dunk from obscurity and turned it into the most coveted silhouette on the planet. To celebrate the premier of the skate film Nothing But The Truth, designer James Arizumi decided to mash up 31 different iconic Dunks into a single pair of shoes. It shouldn't have worked. Most "mash-up" projects in fashion end up looking like a desperate cry for attention. Yet, the Nike What The Dunk became the blueprint for every "What The" release that followed, from LeBron's basketball line to the Kobe 8s.
The Chaos is the Point
You can't talk about this shoe without talking about the "SB Dunk Craze" of the mid-2000s. Back then, there were no apps like SNKRS. You had to know a guy who knew a guy at a skate shop. You had to wait in physical lines. The Nike What The Dunk was a physical manifestation of that entire culture.
If you look closely at the left shoe versus the right shoe, you start to see the DNA of the greats. You’ve got the "Pigeon" orange from Jeff Staple’s legendary NYC release. There’s the "Paris" canvas, the "Supreme" elephant print, and the "Hemp" textures. It’s basically a history lesson you wear on your feet. Arizumi famously said that he wanted to create a shoe that was "so wrong it was right."
Think about the sheer audacity of putting a "Buck" green heel on the same shoe as a "Medicom" denim toe box. It breaks every rule of traditional color theory. Usually, designers want balance. They want symmetry. They want the eye to flow naturally from the tongue to the outsole. The What The Dunk does the opposite. It forces your eyes to jump around, trying to identify which piece of leather belongs to which specific year of SB history.
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Why the Market Value is Absolutely Ridiculous
Let’s be real: most people who own these aren't skating in them anymore. If you see someone doing a kickflip in a pair of Nike What The Dunks in 2026, they’re either incredibly wealthy or incredibly reckless.
When they first dropped, the retail price was around $120. Today? You're looking at anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 depending on the condition and whether or not the original gold box is still intact. Why the jump? It’s not just rarity. It’s the fact that this shoe represents the peak of the "Silver Box" and "Black Box" eras of Nike SB.
- Scarcity: They weren't produced in massive quantities.
- Cultural Weight: It’s the "Greatest Hits" album of the sneaker world.
- The Trend Cycle: We’ve seen a massive resurgence in Dunk popularity over the last five years, which naturally pushed the "grails" into the stratosphere of pricing.
The market for these isn't just collectors; it's art investors. When Sotheby’s or Christie’s holds a sneaker auction, this is one of the pairs they lead with. It’s a piece of 21st-century industrial design that happens to have laces.
Common Misconceptions About the Design
People often think Nike just threw random scraps together. That’s not true.
There was a very specific mapping process to ensure the weight and feel of the shoe remained consistent despite the varying materials. Using "Hemp" on one panel and "Suede" on another affects how the shoe creases. James Arizumi and the SB team had to ensure that while the colors were chaotic, the structural integrity wasn't compromised.
Another big myth is that these were the first "What The" shoes. While they popularized the name and the "mismatched" look, Nike had experimented with varied patterns before, but never with this level of self-referential storytelling. This was the first time a brand looked in the mirror and said, "Let's put everything we've ever done on one canvas."
The 31 Flavors of SB
To really understand the Nike What The Dunk, you have to recognize the "ingredients." It's like a chef’s tasting menu. You’ve got bits and pieces from:
- The Supreme (both the White and Black cement versions)
- The Pigeon (the shoe that famously caused a riot in New York)
- The California (the "Cali" Dunk with the star)
- The Tiffany (Diamond Supply Co.’s masterpiece)
- The Jedi (with those neon laces)
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Every single stitch on the shoe is a nod to a moment where a specific subculture—whether it was skaters, hip-hop heads, or artists—claimed the Dunk as their own.
The Legacy of the Mismatch
Look at the landscape of sneakers today. You see mismatched shoes everywhere. Even high-fashion brands like Balenciaga or Off-White have played with the "deconstructed" or "assembled" aesthetic. But they all owe a debt to the Nike What The Dunk.
It changed the "rules" of what a commercial product could look like. Before this, brands were terrified of making something "ugly." Nike SB realized that in the world of street culture, being polarizing is better than being boring. If half the people hate your shoe and the other half are willing to fight for it, you’ve won.
The "What The" series eventually expanded into basketball. We saw the "What The Kobe" 7, 8, and 9. We saw "What The LeBrons." But none of them quite captured the lightning in a bottle that the original SB Dunk did. Maybe it’s because the SB era felt more underground. It felt like a secret club. By the time it hit the LeBron line, it was a corporate strategy. The original felt like a prank that went viral before "going viral" was even a thing.
How to Spot a Fake (Because They're Everywhere)
Because the price tag is so high, the counterfeit market for Nike What The Dunks is sophisticated. But there are tells.
First, look at the embroidery on the "Buck" section and the "Pigeon" logo. On fakes, the stitching is often too thick or the colors are slightly desaturated. The "elephant print" is another dead giveaway. On authentic pairs, the grooves in the elephant print are deep and defined, not just printed on the surface.
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Also, check the "Tiffany" crocodile skin. It should have a distinct, slightly glossy texture that catches the light. Most replicas use a cheap stamped leather that looks flat. If the price seems too good to be true, it’s a fake. Nobody is selling a real pair of these for $500 in a "basement sale."
Buying and Maintaining a Grail
If you’re actually in the market for a pair of Nike What The Dunks, you need to be careful. These shoes are aging. The midsoles can eventually crumble if they aren't stored correctly, though Dunks are generally more durable than Air Maxes because they don't use the same type of pressurized air bags that are prone to hydrolysis.
Still, the glues can dry out. If you buy a pair from 2007, don't expect to go out and play a game of HORSE in them. They are archival pieces now.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re a collector or just someone who appreciates the history, here is how you should approach this specific shoe:
- Study the "Nothing But The Truth" film. It gives the shoe context. You’ll see the skaters who were actually around when this culture was being built.
- Verify through multiple sources. If buying, use a service like eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee or CheckCheck. Don't rely on a single "legit check" from a stranger on Reddit.
- Don't clean them with harsh chemicals. The variety of materials (suede, leather, hemp, canvas) means that a one-size-fits-all cleaner will ruin at least one part of the shoe. Use a dedicated sneaker cleaning kit and be extremely gentle on the "Hemp" panels.
- Understand the "Box" era. Learn the difference between the gold box, the blue box, and the pink box. It’ll help you understand the timeline of Nike SB and why the What The Dunk (Gold Box) sits where it does in the hierarchy.
The Nike What The Dunk isn't just a shoe. It’s a time capsule. It’s a loud, vibrant, slightly confusing reminder of a time when sneakers were about storytelling and community rather than just "drops" and "resell bots." It’s a masterpiece of the "so bad it's good" philosophy, and it likely won't ever be topped.