5 Best Reebok Basketball Shoes
During its golden years, around the 80s and early 2000s, the Reebok brand was a true force to be reckoned with when it came to basketball shoes and athletic and lifestyle footwear. Although they currently seem to have taken the backseat in the marketing and brand-awareness game, their quality and performance-driven basketball shoes have not.
If you’re out looking for a top-notch Reebook basketball shoe to purchase, we can help find the right pair that offers great value for your investment.
We have tested and reviewed Reebok basketball shoes while exerting all possible resources. We then selected the la crème de la crème for your browsing convenience. In this article, we highlight the ones that stood out during our extreme scrutiny.
How we test basketball shoes
With over a hundred Reebok basketball kicks available in the market, we make sure to come up with an unbiased selection of the finest and most reliable. We carefully approach this in the following manner:
- We buy the shoes with our own money to dispel any doubt about brand loyalty.
- We bring pairs of shoes in our lab to literally cut them open and see what makes them great or not so great. Yes, we do this a lot with other types of shoes.
- Together with other basketball pals and sneaker geeks, we play several games of hoops on both the hardcourt and hardwood, outdoor, and indoor basketball courts. We keep a record of the entire experience. We spend a few weeks wearing the shoe practically everywhere to test further its comfort, flexibility, bounce, durability, and many others.
Best Reebok basketball shoes overall
What makes it the best?
Amazing breathability, immense durability, and impressive stability. These are the benefits that make the Question Mid a sure standout among other Reebok basketball shoes. This is indeed a shoe that builds our confidence without compromising on longevity and comfort.
Scoring a solid 4 out of 5, the Reebok Question Mid is easily among the most breathable basketball shoes out there. We never felt our feet being damp during our numerous test games.
When it comes to durability, the Question Mid is indeed a force to watch out for. Forceful Dremel drilling on the toebox and heel counter padding led to amazing results. The toebox got a 4 while the heel counter padding got a perfect 5. Our drilling barely left a significant mark on both parts.
Stability is another aspect where this Reebok shoe shines. Using a caliper in the lab, we measured the width of the platform to be 115.4 mm at the forefoot and 96.9 mm at the heel. These numbers make the platform 2.1 mm and 5.8 mm wider than average. Because of this, we never had to worry about our feet falling off the footbed.
It will be beneficial for everyone if the Question Mid were a bit lighter. At 16.90 ounces or 479 grams, this shoe totally eclipses the average that weighs only 14.22 ounces or 403 grams.
Pros
- Responsive cushioning
- Solid side-to-side stability
- Supportive ankle section
- Grips on both indoor & outdoor courts
- Highly durable build
- Above-average breathability
- Cozy interiors
- Iconic silhouette
Cons
- Not for wide feet
- A bit weighty
Reebok basketball with the best support
What makes it the best?
When it comes to support and lockdown, the Answer DMX leads the pack of Reebok basketball shoes. Thanks to its heavily padded upper and wide heel platform, the foot will really not go anywhere when the Answer DMX is already on it. Besides support, this shoe is also big on outsole durability and torsional rigidity.
Based on the readings made by our in-lab caliper, the heel platform is 4.3 mm wider than average, which gives our feet a lot more space for in-motion splays. This benefit plus the strong clasp of the padded upper, there is now no room for doubt that support is really strong with this shoe.
The durability of the outsole is also a standout benefit of the Answer DMX. We subjected the sole rubber to our Dremel drill test, and the dent that it created is only 0.3 mm deep. This number is way way lower than the 1.1 mm average. This is definitely among the most durable out there.
This Reebok shoe also helped us avoid painful twists. After giving it a good twist in the lab, we experienced immense rigidity so we didn’t have any other choice but to give it a perfect 5 for twist resistance.
We are not happy with the fact that this shoe is 2.04 ounces (roughly 58 grams) heavier than average. It would have been a lot better if this shoe were even just a bit lighter.
Pros
- Incredible durability
- Stylish retro silhouette
- Plenty of impact protection
- Mimics the OG DMX cushioning
- Comfortable in-shoe feel
- Great support and stability
- Fantastic value for money
Cons
- Not breathable
- Heavy for a hoop shoe
Reebok basketball with the best durability
What makes it the best?
When we say that the Reebok Blast is all about durability, we really mean it. This shoe got a 5 out of 5 for the durability of its toebox and heel counter padding. There is now no room for doubt that this show will definitely last long, even if subjected to some serious beating on the court. Aside from its durability, we also appreciated this shoe’s torsional rigidity and midsole firmness.
To test for the rigidity of the shoe’s base, we manually twisted the shoe in the lab. It showed immense resistance so we did not have any doubt that this shoe deserved a perfect 5 when it comes to twist resistance. On the court, this benefit helped us maintain tremendous stability.
Our HA durometer gave the midsole a firmness rating of 35.9, which is far higher (hence, firmer) than the 26.6 average. This firm midsole gave us a lot of springiness, which helped us run more efficiently toward the basket.
The weight, though, might need some work. It is so heavy at 17.46 ounces or 495 grams when the average is only 14.22 ounces or 403 grams. The Reebok Blast is definitely not for those players who want a barely there feel.
Pros
- A Blast from the past!
- Great value for money
- Incredible wear resistance
- Great impact protection
- Reliable traction
- Very secure support and lockdown
- Unique asymmetrical colorway
Cons
- Lacks ventilation big-time
- Very heavy
- Narrow platform
Reebok basketball with the best style
What makes it the best?
If you want to look good while dribbling and dunking, there’s no shoe better than the Shaq Attaq in Reebok’s roster. This high-top just has this timeless look that is sure to turn heads on and off the court. Besides looking good, the Reebok Shaq Attaq is also quite a performer. Worthy of special mention here are its immense stability and impressive durability.
Much of the Shaq Attaq’s stability came from its pretty rigid base. This part of the shoe scored an impressive 4 out of 5 for torsional rigidity after our manual twists in the lab. It surely protected us from painful twists during our games.
The shoe’s sturdiness is also worth the attention. We performed our standard Dremel tests on both the toebox material and the heel counter padding, and both showed amazing abrasion resistance. Both sites got a 5 out of 5 for durability.
At 16.68 ounces or 473 grams, this basketball shoe is indeed on the heavier side. The weight of the average shoe is only 14.22 ounces or 403 grams. If there’s one thing we would like to change, the weight would be it.
Pros
- Great cushioning
- Reliable grip on various surfaces
- Durable upper
- Dependable lateral containment
- Impressive ankle support
- Good twist resistance
- Ideal for center players
Cons
- Not breathable
- Quite heavy
Reebok basketball with the best materials
What makes it the best?
The Reebok Answer IV is made of leather, which is literally up there when it comes to quality and overall classiness. So hands down, this shoe easily has the best materials among all the Reebok basketball shoes on record. But more than just looking good, the leather upper is also ultra durable and supportive. The Answer IV also sports a soft midsole to complete the shoe’s comfortable feel.
The leather upper successfully resisted the pressures that our Dremel drilling brought to it. The whole process barely left a mark, earning for the shoe a perfect 5 and convincing us that longevity is indeed in this shoe’s DNA.
When it comes to security and lockdown, the form-conforming leather is not to be discounted. Both our lateral and forward movements got the support that they needed.
The feeling underfoot is not to be undermined. Our HA durometer in the lab showed that the midsole is on the softer side with a rating of 22.6 versus the 26.6 of the average shoe. During our test games, the soft cushioning kept the pain at bay and allowed us to persist for a longer period.
It’s just unfortunate that the leather’s inherently non-porous surface retained 98% of the smoke (and by extension, heat) that we pumped in. Given this result, we were left with no other choice but to give it the disappointing 1 over 5 for ventilation.
Pros
- Iconic '90s silhouette
- Stunning leather quality
- Exceptional stability and support
- Phenomenal lockdown (laces, zipper, velcro)
- Lighter than other Reebok classics
- Great forefoot traction
- Cool reflective side panels
Cons
- No breathability at all
- Unsatisfactory cushioning
- Tapered toebox