The Nike Dunk High came out in 1985 as a high-top basketball performance shoe. It was inspired by 4 other models: the AF1, the AJ1, The Terminator and Legend. The Nike Dunk High released alongside the AJ1 High as a basketball shoe and quickly became more popular because of the ‘Be True To Your School’ campaign, which saw several Dunk High’s in colorways representing Division I school colors (University of Iowa, University of Kentucky, University of Michigan, Georgetown, St. John’s, UNLV and Syracuse).