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An easy way to put Nike SB Dunks into perspective is to look at a timeline of box eras. Each era represents a vibe with respect to SB Dunk history!
Nike SB Dunk History Box Era Timeline
The box eras for Nike SB are, in order: Orange, Silver, Pink, Black, Gold, Blue, Tape, Teal, Purple and Sail. Other box colors such as Teal/black split, Orange Label and Rainbow represent special, exclusive or quickstrike releases.
Nike Dunk Low Pro B
The Dunk Low Pro B is a precursor to what would become the Nike SB Dunk. An example would be the Lightning colorway. When I first started, I felt like a Dunk historian learning about these pairs!
Nike had been making skate shoes with little commercial success. However, the early 2000s was a peak of popularity for Nike Sportswear Dunks.
The Pro B used this popularity to experiment with dunks that feature puffy tongues (albeit less than what the SB Low would eventually reflect) and tongue straps (higher up on the tongue than a modern SB Dunk). The large oval SB lace can also first be seen on certain pairs of Pro Bs. While these Pro Bs do not have Zoom Air in the insole, you can see how they form the basic blueprint to merge the Dunk into the skate scene.
Orange Box Era – 2002
The first series of SB Dunks is known as the Orange Box era. This began in 2002 and marked the start of the Nike SB Dunk line. Some of my favorite pairs originated during this time. The “older Dunks have better materials” catchphrase of older collectors is proven by pairs from this time period.
The Pro B is upgraded here with a Zoom Air insole, fatter tongue, lower tongue straps and added padding. The two highs that released during this era also contained fat tongues. Fat tongue highs would be a rarity in the dunk world aside from this.
The popularity of Nike SB started its ramp up here, with team skaters such as Gino Iannucci, Reese Forbes and Danny Supa rocking colorways they helped design. During this era, Alphanumeric collabed on another version of the Lightning Pro B, only as an SB. Supreme also notably dropped the white and black Supreme Lows. All these factors helped build momentum for SB to become the force it is today.
Silver Box Era – 2003
The Silver Box Era is my favorite moment of SB Dunk History. This is where Nike SB gets its own box color and style, although at this point the tongue tags don’t say ‘SB’ on them just yet.
I like this era best for one reason: the suede. The materials used here help form many legendary SB Dunk colorways. Some of my favorites include the Hulks, Sea Crystals, Tweeds and Irons. We also get another Supreme collab during this time with 3 colorways of high tops (the last seen with a fat tongue until the Shoe Goo colorway in the Gold Box era).
While many newer SB fans don’t venture this far back into the archives when grail hunting, pairs from this era are some of the first ‘old school’ pairs I tracked down. I began my sneaker journey looking for colorways like Brown Pack highs, Bison Lows, True Reds and Vamps. As far as materials and simple but fire colorways, this era is top notch in my book.
Pink Box Era – 2004
The Pink Box Era is where I believe Nike SB started to truly take off. Nike SB is now officially on the tongue tag to denote the model. We also see the power of the collab during this time.
I think many newer SB collectors look towards this time when hunting for ‘grails’. Indeed, the many legendary collabs set a trend at this time for how to popularize a model. The Medicom, Diamond and Stussy collabs are all extremely well known in the SB community.
Pairs that deserve recognition include the Tiffany Lows, Stussys, Medicoms, Unkles and NY Pigeons. Additionally, pairs like the Bandaids, BTTYS set, J-Packs, Slams, De La Souls, Hunters, Avengers and Shanghais all deserve attention. With releases like these, it is easy to see why the SB Dunk became a phenomenon at this point in time.
Black Box Era – 2006
While the Black Box era is chock-full of great releases that continued to push Nike SB’s popularity, some ‘old head’ collectors view it as the beginning of a downhill slide for the brand quality-wise.
During this time, a lot of releases started coming out, as in multiple each month. The quality is for the most part on point, but the QC begins to struggle a bit as far as paneling and shape on some pairs.
Notable pairs here include the Purple Pigeons, Hawaiis, Golfs, Brian Andersons, Mafias, Three Bears, Pee Wee Hermans and MF Dooms. One of my favorites from this time is the Send Help colorway, a Todd Bratrud design. Bratrud would go on to design multiple SB colorways.
Gold Box Era – 2007
At this point, older collectors will note a gradual temporary downfall in SB Dunk history. While many dope pairs would release during this time period, materials would start to slip in quality and releases would start to become saturated.
The Gold Box era holds a special place for me as I started collecting sneakers in 2008 with the Newcastle SB Dunk Lows. I had read about the Heinekens and decided the Newcastles would be a safe way to start!
Some other great releases here include Appetite for Destructions, Ferris Beullers, Skate or Dies, Thrashins, Piet Mondriaans, Marge Simpsons, Big Gulps and Venoms. Notable collabs include the Concepts Lobsters. Mids also started to proliferate at this time. Rarities that popped up in this era include the Freddies and What The Dunks. At one point, I had nearly all the common Gold Box drops and many of the quickstrikes!
Blue Box Era – 2009
Blue Box was really the start of questionably bad SB Materials. There are a lot of hype releases from this era including 4/20 releases and Concepts collabs, yet the quality on many general releases began to reveal quirky QC, rough suede and plasticky leather.
Additionally, the eyelets and padding were changed in the Blue Box era. Nike SB experimented with thin tongue Dunk Lows, much to the ire of longtime collectors. The changes were made to make the shoes better for skaters, but in doing so detracted from the comfort, shape and materials collectors initially liked about the brand.
Besides Blue Lobsters, other notable releases from the Blue Box era include the Space Jams, Cheech and Chongs, Skunks, Brainwrecks, Statue of Liberties, Kostons, Loons, Unheavens Gates, and Nontourages. The Yellow Lobster colorway collab with Concepts marks a very limited sneaker of the time. Aside from special Quickstrike drops and collabs, drab general releases seemed to flood the market and Nike SB began its downturn in full force towards the end of this era.
Tape Box Era – 2012
There are SO MANY Tape Box releases in a relatively short time, it’s tough to get them all into an article. The Send Help 2s, Levis, Sequoias, Raging Bulls, Krampus’, Slate Blues, Earl Greys, Guinness’, Walk of Fames, Concords, St Pattys, 112s, Firecrackers, SPOTs and FTCs all leap to mind.
While I copped my fare share of Tape Boxes, I started passing on many releases at this time. I eventually sold all of them and don’t have a single pair left in my collection.
There are some very nice pairs during this era, but also many pairs that seemed to go straight to the outlets. Quality is definitely hit or miss at this time, and the saturation is real for a box era that only lasted around a year. I found an article listing 70+ pairs from this time period in SB Dunk history!
Teal Box Era – 2013
The Teal Box era lasted a LONG time and includes many dope releases. We start to see older Dunk lows acknowledged and flipped into highs such as the Supas, Ginos, Forbes, Diamonds and Mulders.
I’ve only got a few Teal Boxes still, but it was towards the end of this time period that Nike SB began to regain its footing and become popular again.
Some cool pairs from this time include Rayguns, Ben-Gs, more Supreme lows, Parras, Black Sheeps, Dog Walkers, Green and Purple Concepts Lobsters, Paparazzis, Northern Lights, White, Black and Canary Diamonds, White Widows, Black Pigeons, IW Dunks and the Box Era Series Dunks. To be honest, there are so many Teal Box dunks it’s impossible to get them all down here.
One thing is for certain, this era began as outlet fodder. Thanks to big collabs and celebrities being seen rocking SB Dunks, later Teal Box releases are a reseller’s dream… for better or worse.
Purple Box – 2020
Nike SB is calling this the “Stripe Box” era based on the Quickstrike boxes, however the General release box color is indeed Purple.
Thanks to pandemic-induced shipping delays, releases for Purple boxes seem to be all over the place and often sell out instantly at skateshops. Low production numbers combined with increased skateshop / boutique / SNKRS exclusivity and popular collabs from the likes of Travis Scott, the Grateful Dead and Ben and Jerrys are all contributing to the hype of this model.
A few pairs I’ve grabbed include the Barcelonas, Laser Blues, Strawberry Coughs, Classic Greens, TV Signals, Celadons, Red Plums, Court Purples, Pink Pigs, Flaxes, Atmos and Hennessy.
I’ve let go of some pairs from the Purple Box era too. However thanks to nicer materials on some releases, cool collabs and quickstrikes and a bit more put into step-in comfort, I feel the SB Dunk is enjoying a bit of a renaissance.
Sail Box – 2023
I must admit, I do not currently own any pairs from the Sail Box era. This is the latest and greatest from Nike Skateboarding, but I just haven’t been able to get my hands on a pair this year.
Still, we have some already high-profile releases from this era. Examples include the Run the Jewels collab, Jarritos and Air Jordan 4 x Nike SB mash-up. I’m sure at some point I will go for a pair from this era to help round out the collection. I will have to find a Dunk SB that I am willing to spend the resale price on since these pairs still tend to sell out!
Sure, we’re never going to be able to touch the quality and appeal of the oldest SB’s from the Orange and Silver box days. Still, the Purple box makes a strong case for why SB Dunks are so popular right now. The limited availability of these kicks of course adds to the hype and makes them tough to buy for retail.
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