7 Best Nike Basketball Shoes

How we test basketball shoes

If you would like to know what happens behind our comprehensive reviews and top-pick recommendations, read below:

• We buy all the shoes with our own money. We have no sponsorships or contracts with the brands. This allows us to publish bias-free, in-depth reviews.
• We play basketball in these shoes, both indoors and outdoors. The main features we observe and examine are grip, spring, lateral support, and lockdown.
• In our lab, we use a saw to cut the shoes in half and then other devices like calipers, durometers, a smoke machine and a force gauge to assign data points to different shoe features.

How to choose the best Nike basketball shoe for you

Just like players themselves, basketball shoes vary in their strengths and weaknesses. And even though some Nike shoes are well-rounded enough to deserve everyone’s love, they may not be ideal for certain players.

Your playing style, position, and personal preferences should all be considered. Perhaps you need a light shoe with supreme traction and excellent court feel? Or you are a big center looking for a ton of cushioning and support?

In this section, we sort all Nike shoes based on the following key features: cushioning, support, and weight. That way you can find the kick that meets your unique needs on the court.

Most cushioned Nike shoes

These basketball shoes from Nike have a heel stack of at least 28 mm and a forefoot stack of at least 20 mm. That way you get a much taller platform which provides added impact protection and shock absorption.

This category is most suitable for the following:

• heavier guys and gals and centers
• athletes with a history of joint issues (ankles, knees, or hips)
• players who perform a lot of explosive, high-impact moves, jumps, and dunks and prefer cushioning over court feel

Most supportive Nike shoes

If you are after the highest level of side-to-side support, you need a Nike shoe with high torsional rigidity, a stiff and supportive heel counter, and a wide platform with lateral flanges.

We rate the stiffness of each Nike shoe on a 1-5 scale (5 is the stiffest)

Every type of player will benefit from these supportive Nike silhouettes as they help to stabilize the foot in a variety of situations - from battles under the rim to high-speed maneuvers.

However, this category is a must to consider if:

• you seek better ankle support to lower the risk of injury (or you already have a history of ankle injuries)
• you have flat feet and overpronation

What about collar height? As you can see, not all supportive Nike shoes have mid-top collars. That’s because collar height does NOT necessarily provide better ankle support, according to research. However, the higher collar does create more perceived support which is preferred by some players.

The lightest Nike shoes

The average weight of our lab-tested basketball shoes hovers around 13.8 oz (390g). Thus, we consider shoes that weigh less than that as lightweight.

Guards and small forwards with shifty and agile playing styles are the primary beneficiaries of these lightweight Nike shoes. Having less shoe underfoot allows them to accelerate much quicker and not lose speed during the game. These lighter shoes also tend to have better court feel due to less cushioning.

Best outdoor basketball shoes from Nike

Nike doesn’t specify which of their basketball shoes are ready for the blacktop. But based on our extensive lab-testing, an outdoor-ready hoop shoe will always have these two characteristics:

1. Tread pattern: recessed with thicker tread lines
2. Outsole rubber: hard, thick, and abrasion-resistant

The first one is easy to tell just by looking at the bottom of a shoe.

Thin and sharp treads don’t bode well abrasive concrete courts. And because they are thinner, they also tend to be softer which makes them extra grippy on hardwood courts but notably more more frail outdoors.

If you have a chance to test a shoe on foot, try pressing your foot firmly to the floor and rocking it side to side. If you can feel the treads warping and shifting, that’s not a good shoe for outdoor courts.

But how can you tell if the outsole rubber is wear-resistant? That’s where our durability tests come in handy.

We use a Shore C durometer to measure each shoe’s rubber hardness, a caliper to measure its thickness, and a Dremel with sandpaper to test how much abrasion the rubber can take at 10K RPM speed.

*the table is sorted by Outsole hardness (the higher the HA reading, the harder the material)

Signature Nike basketball shoes

It’s impossible to watch a basketball game without spotting a Swoosh on the court. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Sabrina Ionescu, and many other iconic players have their signature silhouettes with Nike not to mention that the brand extended their partnership with NBA to 2037!

But are all signature shoes equally good? Surely not.

Designed with a particular player’s preferences in mind, each hoop shoe has its own strengths and limitations. However, the weaknesses of some signature shoes are so minor that they receive pretty high scores from expert reviewers and hoopers.

See best Jordan basketball shoes to learn more about signature shoes of Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, and Russell Westbrook.

Budget-friendly Nike hoop shoes

Just because Nike is a big name doesn’t mean that you can’t get its products at an affordable price point.

Sure, if you look at the newest releases of the brand’s signature shoes, you will see a hefty price that ranges from $140 to $210 but if you do a little research, you can find a pretty good deal. here’s how:

1. Sales: At RunRepeat, we aggregate prices from over 200 online retailers that sell Nike basketbal shoes. Setting up a price alert on our website will allow you to be instantly notified about a price drop for your selected shoe and size.
2. Previous editions: If you go to our catalog page of Nike basketball shoes and sort by Discount, you will see quite a few previous-season shoes offered for only half the price! Remember, the presence of a newer option does not automatically make older models worse. Sometimes it can even be the other way around!
3. Takedown models: Even within signature lines, Nike develops more affordable silhouettes to appeal to a wider audience. These basketball shoes use cheaper materials and lack the progressive technologies but they are solid enough for beginner and recreational players. Think LeBron Witness, KD Trey 5, Giannis Immortaity, etc.
4. Budget shoes: These entry-level options are sold at a retail price of $100 or less but have all the essentials for someone who is just starting out with the sport.