Your sports equipment is crucial when it comes to professional competition. The shoes cannot improve your talent, but they can definitely improve your performance.
There is a lot more than just style when it comes to basketball shoes, and finding the best suit for you can be difficult. One of the best ways to find the right shoe for you is to do your own research, or look what professional players of the NBA betting odds use on court.
When it comes to shoes in basketball, the market is heavily crowded with Nike, Adidas, and Jordan. However, in recent years we’ve seen some amazing shoes coming from other brands like Converse, New Balance, Puma, and other Chinese brands.
How to Choose the Best Basketball Shoe?
Even though most basketball shoes are designed with performance and comfort in mind, there are still few things you need to pay attention to when buying your shoes. Before making any decision, you need to understand which shoes are the best for your capabilities.
Are you an aggressive player or someone that wants to showcase agility and speed?
Let’s look at the anatomy of a basketball shoe and find out which things you need to pay attention to.
The Upper
When buying a basketball shoe, the first decision you need to make is the height of the shoes. There are three available sizes.
- Highs – This provides an extra layer of support for your ankle and improves your stability, but they are a bit heavier.
- Mids – As you probably already guessed, this is a mid-sized shoe that sits right at the ankle providing some coverage without having an all-enclosing design. Mids are great just because they are more flexible.
- Lows – Low basketball shoes are designed with speed and agility in mind. Due to their low profile, they don’t provide any ankle support.
If you want to increase security and protection, you can go for a different upper design that provides even more support. Rather than going for a shoe with laces, you can choose shoes with zippers, straps, or hook-and-loop closures, but bear in mind that more coverage means more weight.
The Midsole
The footwear’s cushioning is called the midsole of the shoe. This is the most essential part of a basketball shoe if you want to improve your performance. Most basketball shoes are designed with similar materials, such as various foams like EVA and compressed EVA foam for lighter options. EVA foam is great for performance but it is less durable.
Some brands even go deeper and provide extra cushioning namely in the heel and forefoot, which reduces the stress on knees and ankles during matches.
The Outsole
The outsole is also crucial when it comes to choosing the perfect basketball shoe. This is the outside part of the shoe that provides the grip on the court. Most basketball shoes are made of a rubber or synthetic material and the goal here is to provide more traction. Get the highly anticipated release date for the latest Air Jordan 12 that you can add to your collection, check Fast Sole now.
You should aim for shoes that have flat and wide outsole just because they provide the best grip and balance. Some shoes even have a herringbone or hexagonal pattern which prevents you from sliding on the court.
Best Basketball Shoes in 2024
Now since you know what is important when buying basketball shoes, let’s find out some of the best shoes on the market today.
1. Nike LeBron 17
Even though we are talking about shoes that were released back in 2019, they are still one of the best on the market. LeBron 17 features the biggest Air Max heel on LeBron James signature sneaker yet, and the best thing is that they offer two independent Air Zoom Pods on the front for extra cushioning.
When it comes to design, they are very similar to other Air Maxes apart from the alligator texture which looks incredible. Despite their height, they won’t compromise your performance because they feel very light.
2. Nike Kyrie 6
These are probably one of the most vibrant shoes you’ll ever see on the court, and that is no surprise since we are talking about Kyrie Irving’s signature line. When we compare the price to performance ratio, these shoes are one of the best buys today.
The shoes have Air Zoom Turbo cushion on the forefoot, and an additional midfoot strap to ensure that your feet are securely locked in. With that said, they are a bit heavy compared to other performance models, but that’s the price you pay for improved security.
The design of these shoes is vibrant and can be combined with different colors and prints just to add some extra flair to your game.
3. Puma RS-Dreamer
Puma returned to basketball back in 2018 and since then it became a pop culture brand and even J. Cole got his own signature basketball shoe. The RS-Dreamer are probably the most stylish basketball shoes with the performance to match.
We are talking about a low-top sneaker that is made from breathable mesh upper and comfortable foam sole unit. Even though the foam is soft, they do not provide such cautioning as Air Maxes, but they are very light and you won’t feel like you have shoes when running.
4. Adidas N3XT L3V3L
We’ve seen many striking basketball shoes, and these ones fall in the same category. If you mentioned that you’ll play with shoes with no laces a decade ago, you’d probably be laughed at. However, now things re changed and Adidas managed to put out basketball sneakers that are extremely comfortable thanks to the new foam technology for the midsole.
It is worth mentioning that these shoes are made from breathable mesh, which means they are less durable than other models. They are mostly used by people that play indoor basketball.
5. Air Jordan 35
The idea behind Nike’s Air Jordan 35 was to get rid of everything that is not absolutely necessary in basketball shoes, and we ended up with these high-performance shoes that are one of the best. Just like most Nike shoes, they have Zoom Air forefoot support and they are made with the highest quality materials such as suede and nubuck.
This is one of the best pairs of basketball shoes you can find at the store.
6. Converse All Star Pro BB
Even though it is very hard to spot some of the biggest names in the NBA wearing Converse shoes, they still provide some great pairs such as the All-Star Pro BB. The shoes are designed by Eric Avar, the designer responsible for creating Kobe Bryant’s Nike line.
All-Star Pro BB’s include Nike React Sole and Quadfit mesh upper enhanced in a low-slung cup sole for more security. They are light and provide impressive grip, which is why they are slowly building a name for themselves in the basketball league.
Although most basketball stars choose the mainstream brands when it concerns shoes, there are a few notorious exceptions. Steph Curry, who is one of the best point guards in NBA history according to TwinSpires, uses shoes from Curry Brand, in a partnership with Under Armour. That’s why you might not recognize the logo in the shoes of the Warriors’ superstar.
Here you have it, the best basketball shoes in 2024. Is there any that we missed? Let us know!
