Shox have been back in the rotation for a while now. Usually it’s the TL or the R4, worn with wide-leg jeans purely for the look. Today, the model that started the whole story returns: the Nike Shox BB4 in the OG “Black / Metallic Silver / Lapis”. Its first return since 2019.
Sydney, 2000, and that one dunk
A little context, because that’s what makes this drop special. The BB4 debuted in 2000 and was designed by Eric Avar, the same designer behind a hefty stack of Y2K Nikes. His references were spacesuits and rockets, and you can still see that influence: the smooth, curved silver panel, the rows of dots around the toe and midfoot, and the four visible pillars under the heel.
Vince Carter made the shoe famous. The 2000 Sydney Olympics, the dunk over Frédéric Weis. That image has been replayed for twenty-six years now, with the BB4 right at the center of it. It was never officially his signature model, but in practice, this is simply the Vince shoe.
What you’re looking at
Black leather covers the toe, tongue, and eyestays. Above and behind that is metallic silver, on the hard, curved panel that gives the BB4 its unusual shape. Down below is lapis: blue along the midsole and in the four Shox pillars at the heel. A small white Swoosh sits on the heel panel, with little else in the way of decoration.
That blue isn’t a random choice. It matches the old Raptors uniform Carter played in almost perfectly. If you know those photos, you’ll see it right away.
Wearable or a museum piece?
Honestly, this isn’t a clean basic. The BB4 is tall, wide, and loud, and it needs a pair of pants that falls over it. Wide-leg jeans, cargos, track pants — that’s where it works. With a slim fit, it quickly becomes too much. But that’s exactly what makes it interesting now, with Y2K basketball models popping up everywhere: this is the real thing, not a modern nod to it.
The drop
The Shox BB4 “Black / Metallic Silver / Lapis” releases today, August 28, via SNKRS and a selection of retailers, in men’s sizes. So this isn’t a raffle-only drop, but a wide release. With retros like this, the best opportunities usually aren’t at the biggest names but at the shop nobody’s checking: visit the Nike Shox model page to see which webshops are stocking it and which sizes are still available.
You can also scroll through the rest of the Nike releases, but if you ask me, this one is at the top of the list this week.
Grail or bail? Is this the retro you’ve been waiting for, or are you leaving the Shox alone? Let us know below — your answers will help determine just how hard this drop takes off for us.