7 Best Women's Basketball Shoes

How we test basketball shoes

Our testing process starts with purchasing shoes with our own money. Eliminating sponsorships lowers the chance of getting biased by the brands.

Next is the on-court testing. It allows us to get a good feel of each basketball shoe’s performance but we don’t stop there. We dive even deeper by taking the shoe apart in our lab.

Equipped with calipers, durometers, gauges, scales, and even some heavy machinery, we test and measure 20+ parameters in each hoop shoe. Our goal is to provide the most objective information and comparable data on cushioning, stability, fit, flexibility, and other shoe characteristics to help you make an informed decision.

In the end, we carefully pick the best basketball shoes for women and list them in this guide for your convenience.

Are women's basketball shoes different from men’s?

That’s a tricky question because about 95% of basketball shoes on the market right now are men’s shoes offered in unisex sizing. Even the Nike Sabrina shoe was designed on a unisex last to accommodate both genders.

Unfortunately, “shrink it and pink it” is still a silent motto for most brands releasing women’s hoop shoes. Only two features make them different from men’s:

• shoe length (smaller than men’s by 1.5 US size)
• feminine colorways (more pink in most cases)

There is an ongoing discussion, however, that simply scaling down men’s shoes doesn’t consider anatomical differences between men’s and women’s feet and bodies. But as of today, there is no science-backed evidence that women underperform or get injured more because they are playing in smaller-sized men’s shoes.

And yet, we see emerging brands like Moolah Kicks that focus exclusively on designing hoop shoes for women. According to their website, Moolah shoes have narrower heels, lifted arches, slimmer widths, and shallower lateral sides which make them more suitable for the female feet. Reviewers also claim a minimal-to-no break-in period in these shoes.

In our opinion, foot differences go further than the two genders. Take ethnicity, for example, which affects foot morphology quite a bit as well as genetic and individual predispositions, foot conditions (like bunions), and varying toe length.

Finding a perfectly fitting basketball shoe as a woman requires some trial and error. But while we are waiting for more women’s hoop shoes to come out, why not make use of numerous men’s and unisex offerings to choose from?

Finding the right size and fit in women’s basketball shoes

Size: The sizes of most women’s basketball shoes are presented in a unisex format:

• M 9 / W 10.5 (if based on men’s sizing scheme)
• W 10.5 / M 9 (if based on women’s sizing scheme)

Either way, you should always go with the size next to “W” as it stands for the women’s size/length.

But wait, before you order a new pair of hoop shoes in your regular size, we highly recommend measuring your current foot length first. Why is this important?

• Brands have different approaches to shoe sizing so your Nike size may not be the same as your Adidas size.
• Even within the same brand, two shoes can have different lengths because they were designed on different lasts.
• Your own feet change in shape and size even in adulthood! Especially during/after pregnancy or when you gain weight.

Once you have the measurements, use the tool below to find out your size. 

Disclaimer: This conversion tool is based on the brands’ official size charts. But because some basketball shoes can deviate from the standard sizing scheme, we recommend checking the Size and fit of our reviews for sizing advice on a specific model.

Fit: For the lucky ladies, getting the right shoe size automatically means getting the right fit. However, many women still need to make adjustments in the width of the shoe to feel their best.

Sometimes it’s because they need a snugger fit due to too much space in a men’s/unisex shoe. And sometimes they need a more spacious toebox to accommodate wide feet or bunions.

How to choose the best women’s basketball shoe for you

No two basketball shoes feel exactly the same on foot. Some are loaded with cushioning to protect your feet and joints during explosive jump shots. Others feel very light and close to the court for adding speed to your dribbles.

Knowing your playing style helps to determine what shoe characteristics to look for above all else. In this section, we are rating all women’s basketball shoes in our catalog based on the following features:

• Ankle support
• Cushioning
• Lightness
• Durability

Ankle support

Who will benefit?

• athletes with a history of ankle injuries or ankle instability
• players with flat feet and/or overpronation
• agile hoopers with forceful lateral movements
• centers and taller women

This may come as a surprise, but we are not talking about high-tops or mid-tops here. Even though high shoe collars were associated with better ankle support for decades, dozens of recent studies have disproved this myth.

But if high-top basketball shoes don’t guarantee ankle support, what does?

Unfortunately, no basketball shoe can save you from ankle sprains 100% but you can lower the risk of injury by choosing basketball shoes with the following features:

• more stable platforms
• lateral outriggers
• highly secure foot containment

In our lab, we perform several tests to measure the level of support and stability in each hoop shoe.

Our manual tests help to determine the shoe’s torsional rigidity and heel counter stiffness. A supportive shoe will show greater resistance to twisting and bending and, consequently, won’t allow your foot to do the same on the court.

The stiffest hoop shoes will have midfoot shanks on the inside and TPU sidewalls in the outside, preventing foot spills on aggressive lateral cuts. They receive the highest stiffness scores of 4 and 5.

Shoes with rigid, structured, and well-padded heel counters will also minimize in-shoe play and heel wobbling.

To feel as stable as possible, you want to stand on a wide platform with large lateral outriggers. We measure each shoe’s midsole in the widest areas of the heel and forefoot using a caliper.

Cushioning

Who will benefit?

• lady hoopers who need extra impact protection for their explosive playing styles
• athletes with joint pain and a history of joint injuries
• centers, taller and heavier players

Because basketball is such a high-impact sport, every player will benefit from having sufficient shock absorption to keep their joints protected. Especially if you want to stay fatigue-free for all four quarters.

You want the midsole to be springy enough to generate maximum power for vertical jumps like layups and fadeaway shots. But you also need it to be soft enough for impact protection upon landing. Aside from jumps, proper cushioning is necessary when fighting for rebounds, blocking the opponent, and driving to the basket.

In our lab, we are looking at several parameters that contribute to the shoe’s cushioning: forefoot stack, heel stack, and midsole foam softness.

Having tested dozens of basketball shoes, we believe that female players in search of well-cushioned shoes will benefit from the following:

• forefoot stack: at least 20 mm
• heel stack: at least 26 mm
• midsole softness: soft or balanced foam (the lower the HA measurement, the softer the foam)

Conversely, if you need more court feel, look for shoes with stack heights lower than 20 mm in the forefoot and 26 mm in the heel.

Lightweight

Who will benefit?

• guards and forwards with very nimble footwork
• hoopers with a quick playstyle
• shorter and lighter girls

When you are a shifty guard or a forward who moves in and out of the paint, you don’t want a basketball shoe to get in the way of your fast breaks, backdoor cuts, and sprints. Studies show that lighter hoop shoes have a positive effect on both sprint performance (1.6%) and jump execution (2.1%), not to mention that they have a psychological effect by making you feel faster.

For comparable results, we measure all basketball shoes in the same size - men’s US 9 (the equivalent of a women’s US 10.5).

Durability

Who will benefit?

• seasoned female athletes who play and compete regularly
• centers and forwards engaging in lots of post moves, rebounds, and setting screens
• ladies with larger builds
• women who often play outdoors

If you fall in any of the categories above, you want to invest in a more durable basketball shoe to avoid blowing through shoes too quickly.

Here at RunRepeat, we go very hard on each tested pair. We use a Dremel with a sandpaper tip to test the abrasion resistance of their toeboxes, inner lining, and rubber outsoles.

Once the drilling is done, we assess the damaged area and rate its durability on a 1-5 scale (where 5 means most durable). We get to be more precise with the outsole damage because we can measure its depth with a tread gauge (the lower the number, the better).

Basketball shoes for outdoor courts

If you need a hoop shoe specifically for outdoor play/streetball, you should also pay attention to the shoe’s tread pattern.

Because even if the outsole rubber itself proved to be wear-resistant, its lugs may not survive a concrete surface for long and you lose the shoe’s precious grip before the rest of it comes apart.

Thin and sharp tread lines are more prone to wearing off than thick and recessed ones. If you are trying a hoop shoe on and you are in doubt, press your foot firmly against the foot and shift it side to side. If you can feel the treads moving and warping, the outsole is not good for outdoor play.

The rise of interest in WNBA and women’s basketball shoes

Did you know that women started playing basketball only a year after the sport itself was invented? The first recorded women's basketball game was played in 1892 at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

But it wasn’t until 1995 that female hoopers received their very first women-specific basketball shoe! It was the Air Swoopes, the great Sheryl Swoopes’ first signature shoe with Nike.

It took almost three more decades for popular brands to sign deals with prominent female basketball athletes.

Sabrina Ionescu’s Nike Sabrina 1 became an instant success when it was originally released in March 2023 and saw a 200% increase in sales in 2024! Because of its comfort and fantastic on-court performance, the shoe was well-loved and cheerfully worn by male players as well. It was even spotted on the feet of ‘the “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis who wore the shoe on the red carpet during the 2024 Golden Globes.

As of 2025, Breanna Stewart is already into her third iteration of the Stewie line from PUMA. Together with the Sabrina shoe, Stewie became one of the top 15 most traded signature basketball shoes on StockX. And that’s in a tough competition with the LeBrons, KDs, and Kobe shoes!

We are now anticipating Nike’s new signature shoe (A’One) with the Las Vegas Aces star A’Ja Wilson.

Now add to that the amazing Caitlin Clark effect (which is now a household name with its own Wikipedia page)! Caitlin drew unprecedented interest in women’s basketball with her performance and long-range three-point shots in particular. Because of her, TV viewership and game attendance for women’s basketball skyrocketed in 2023-2024 and the athlete herself was likened to Taylor Swift.

No surprise Clark signed a $28 million endorsement deal with Nike in 2024 and we are expecting yet another women’s signature hoop shoe to drop!