Before we get the (GT) Future, we must honor the past. This Spring 2026, Nike is set to bring back the Zoom Hyperflight, a basketball shoe from 2001 that many consider to be among the best ever in Nike Basketball history.
At the turn of century and particularly in the early 2000s, Nike was entrenched in a futuristic design aesthetic and innovation direction that generally defined the Alpha Project. The Zoom Hyperflight was intentionally designed for point guards, but its glossy, faux leather upper drew interest from players of all positions. There were no layered leathers or mesh toe-boxes; just a unibody build with an exterior frame for lockdown that seemingly spelled the lowercase letter “h”. The design was led by the legendary Eric Avar; this set to groundwork for future classics like the Zoom Ultraflight and Air Flightposite III, both designed by the equally legendary Aaron Cooper.
The Zoom Hyperflight last surfaced in 2013 when Nike’s lifestyle basketball category was obsessed with patterns and prints. Unfortunately, it did not resonate with consumers and certainly not with the original fanbase, and thusly the Hyperflight Retro era was short-lived.
In Spring 2026, Sneaker News can confirm that two colorways are set to release, both of which are original drops from 2001. The Black/White and Varsity Purple/Black are currently expected in the first quarter of next year with an MSRP of $145.
This naturally brings the Nike GT Future into the topic; this new model first debuted during All-Star Weekend 2025, and instantly the comparisons to the Hyperflight were made as they share a similar silhouette (particularly the edges of ankle).
With basketball trends shifted to that futurist aesthetic that largely defined the early 2000s, expect Nike to bringing back more hits from that early catalog in the future.
Above photo via Nick Depaula.
