5 Best New Balance Basketball Shoes

Choosing the best pair of shoes overall is not an easy task, but the fact that the TWO WXY V5 is one of the safest bets we’ve seen made it easy. Its wonderful versatility, adaptability, and performance work hand in hand to make it a fantastic all-rounder.

No matter how quick or aggressive our playstyle was, we felt supported at all times. The lateral stability was superb thanks to this shoe’s massive lateral walls. But that’s not all, as its structure also got the highest scores (5/5) on both our torsional rigidity and heel counter stiffness tests, so our feet didn’t move an inch! The cherry on top of this fantastic containment is the extra thick tongue, which comes at 12.5 mm.

But we didn’t just feel this support from the upper. Underfoot, we enjoyed a higher-than-average stack. At 32.4 mm, this shoe’s heel features Fresh Foam X, which focuses on impact protection. Then, at 23.0 mm, we found this NB pair has the responsive and bouncy Fuel Cell on the forefoot, which felt pretty explosive on our layups.

This wonderful mix of support and energy underfoot has a main drawback: it doesn't offer any court feel at all!

After thoroughly testing this hooper on the court and in the lab, jumping constantly and unhesitatingly going for rebounds in traffic during our wear tests, we have finally concluded the Fresh Foam BB V2 offers the best cushioning among the New Balance basketball shoes.

This NB pair hasn’t made its way to our throne just because of its high stack, at 34.9/25.6 mm on the heel and the forefoot respectively, but also because of its wonderful underfoot experience. It features a bouncy full-length and dual-density Fresh Foam X midsole that feels incredibly soft, reaching a score of only 13.1 HA on our durometer!

Despite its cloud-like comfort, this shoe didn’t let our feet sink in too much when we landed. It has a TPU shank in the midfoot that offers some extra support, pushing us back up so our feet didn't need to go for that extra effort to stay active.

The only problem with this high and cushioned shoe is that it didn’t really let us feel the court. Consequently, we believe ground-feel lovers should keep looking.

The NB Hesi Low has many basic features that we believe make a great package for starting hoopers. It’s light, stable, grippy, durable (as long as you don’t play outside), and it offers a good mix between ground feel and cushioning. Our lab tests and hooping hours verify this is the best basketball shoe for beginners we’ve tried.

Playing in this was wonderful. Its lightness (12.9oz/366g) let us run up and down the court, and even though its midsole is not the tallest one out there, it’s pretty responsive. This allowed us to perform basic dribbles, cuts, shots, and layups. After our games and cutting the shoe in half in our lab, we can confirm it puts ground feel first and cushioning second. Yet, at 26.1/21.4 mm at the heel/forefoot, its stack height is still enough to offer some impact protection.

This closeness to the court and its firm carrier foam make the New Balance Hesi Low a stable choice. It also has a small shank in the midfoot, and it was hard for us to twist the shoe with our hands, so it scored a 4/5 in our rigidity test. Its thick rubber outsole makes it durable, giving it more stability points at the same time.

This all-rounder is also affordable. But we found it’s not for outdoor play, so it might be better to stick to indoor courts to make its lifetime as long as possible.

Our feet loved every hour, minute, and second of our wear tests with the Kawhi IV. So we believe it absolutely deserves the crown as the New Balance hooper with the best comfort.

When we took it to our lab, we discovered its incredibly padded interiors. This made the shoe more comfortable and improved its overall lockdown feel. Now that we had it cut in half, we had free access to its dual-colored midsole. Scoring 15.0 and 17.0 HA on our durometer, both parts of the foam felt incredibly plush and comfortable underfoot, with the latter adding some extra stability.

Running up and down the court was also pretty easy. Our force gauge marked 30.4N when we measured this NB's flexibility. This means we needed a whole 21% less force to bend it up to 90 degrees. On the court, such score translated into smooth transitions and easy fakes of any kind.

The problem with having all this padding and foam is that the shoe doesn’t feel like a feather. At 14.4 oz/407g, it’s heavier than other hoopers, which might be a dealbreaker for some.

When we consider a shoe as the best sneaker, we do not look only at its looks. We also pay attention to the comfort that it delivers, its durability, and how securely it grasps the foot. The New Balance 550 passed with flying colors in all aspects, so we consider it deserves to be hailed as the best basketball-inspired sneaker from NB.

Nothing really beats leather when it comes to providing softness and a unique next-to-the-skin feel. The NB 550 is made of real leather, and we thoroughly enjoyed all the benefits that come with it. 

Lasting long even with frequent use would not be a problem with the New Balance 550. We subjected it to Dremel tests, and we learned that the leather upper and the heel padding were dependably durable. Both got a 4 out of 5 for durability during the tests.

When it comes to locking the foot down, the NB 550 is not to be discounted, either. It got a 4 out of 5 for both torsional rigidity and heel counter stiffness. This means that upon wearing this shoe, we did not have to worry anymore about foot twists and heel slips.

We were just not fond of the heaviness of the shoe. Our scale pegged it at 15.94 ounces or 452 grams. The average is only 14.00 ounces or 397 grams.