LEGO Nike set resurrects and reinvents classic sports piece
LEGO basketballs look far different today than they did over 20 years ago, but that’s all about to change thanks to the LEGO Nike partnership.
Following the reveal of 43008 Nike Dunk earlier this week, LEGO and sneaker enthusiasts alike have had time to digest the announcement of this new set, which will be released on July 1 for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99.
Whatever you might think of the shoe-centric model, you can’t deny that it’s a game-changer for LEGO sports, finally resurrecting the concept of the original LEGO Basketball piece, while fixing an important issue with it.
The minifigure exclusive to 43008 Nike Dunk is the B’Ball Head minifigure, and as the name suggests, their head is a basketball printed with athletic sunglasses and a mouth. The piece even comes complete with accurate indentations, which is a vast improvement over other current LEGO minifigure basketballs.
The new minifigure head element more closely resembles the basketball element that debuted in 2003, which was then retired and replaced by the generic ball element in orange until 2018. Since then, basketballs have only ever been represented with the smaller, incomplete sphere element in LEGO sets.
The LEGO basketball that appears in sets today uses the Technic Ball Joint that debuted in 2001, and while it’s perfectly adequate, it doesn’t hold up to the accuracy of the previous LEGO basketball piece that debuted for the NBA sets in 2003, but was retired in 2006. That piece has accurate indentations for basketballs, much like B’Ball Head’s new part.
From then until 2018, basketballs used the standard football element coloured orange, continuing the inaccuracy compared to the original LEGO basketball until July 2025. The launch of 43008 Nike Dunk means the debut of an improved basketball piece, and one that can finally be held by minifigures.
The minifigure head improves on the original basketball piece by including a space for a minifigure hand to hold the ball, rather than balancing it between their arms as they used to. With this potential acknowledged in an official graphic, it’s likely only a matter of time until B’Ball Head’s head appears unprinted in another model.
This is a huge improvement for the current array of LEGO sports elements and might open the door for a similar piece for a football, but that’s only speculation on our part. In the meantime, you can look forward to the release of 43008 Nike Dunk on July 1 for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99.
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