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This week, the sneaker world sees the return of an old-school hoops classic that we haven’t seen on the shelves in quite some time. Originally released in 1985, it was a high-top staple of its era that planted deep roots in the sport. It broke new ground in the sneaker scene, and to this day holds a special place in the history of the industry.
You’d be forgiven for assuming that I’m talking about the Air Jordan 1 “Chicago,” which just this past weekend received the most hotly-anticipated release of the year. And yet! I’m not. Amidst the hype for the return of one of the most popular sneakers of all time, another hoops classic is making its long-overdue return: the Nike Terminator, the first sneaker Nike ever produced for a college basketball team, and a shoe with nearly as rich a history of its own.
Let’s take it back to 1984. The Georgetown Hoyas had just won the college basketball championship, and they’d done so with the help of their coach John Thompson. Thompson had been a consultant at Nike since 1980 and held his share of influence at the brand. Georgetown would enter the following season as the reigning champions, their sights set on locking down the title once again.
Crucially, Nike was also making major moves in the basketball world that year. 1985 saw the debut not only of the iconic Air Jordan 1, but also the Nike Dunk. For all of its prominence as a lifestyle shoe in the modern sneaker world, the Dunk started out as a sneaker made primarily for college basketball teams. Team colorways for schools like UNLV and Michigan made a huge mark and to this day stand out as some of the most coveted Dunks on the resale market.
Still, Georgetown was different. Georgetown were the champs. And champs don’t simply get their own colorway—no, champs get their own shoe. Thanks to some finessing from Thompson, in ‘85 the Hoyas took the court in the navy-and-gray Nike Terminator: a high-top Dunk, more or less, but with a lace loop on the heel ostensibly boosting ankle support. It also featured a statement detail: while general releases of the shoes over the years have featured NIKE emblazoned on the heel, Georgetown players rocked ones with HOYAS in its place. The statement was clear: the Terminator was for Georgetown and Georgetown only.
Georgetown’s 1985 season couldn’t quite match the highs of 1984, with the team falling to Villanova in the championship game. Still, the Terminator holds the distinction of being the first signature shoe for a college basketball team. It’s also the only one Nike has ever produced.
Unlike the Air Jordan 1 and the Dunk, Terminators don’t get a dozen new colorways a year, though the colorway released as a part of the “Thrash Metal” pack in 2008 is a notable banger. There have been a handful of retros of the Georgetown colorway (the last released all the way back in 2014), but it remains something of a cult classic compared to the other notable silhouettes in the Class of ‘85.
It’d be easy to say you shouldn’t sleep on the shoe when it drops on the 22nd via the SNKRS app and retailers nationwide. But the old-school heads who value history over hype would probably rather you look the other way. There’s only so many pairs to go around.
