Nike G.T. Future review

The G.T. Future surely generated a lot of hype with its form, but not so much with its substance. For that reason, we believe that this Nike kick caters to folks who:

• are primarily interested in the shoe's visual aesthetics and not so much in its on-court performance
• want a basketball-inspired sneaker with the Foamposite vibes
• want to experience the cushioning of a premium Nike running shoe in a hoop shoe

We highly recommend skipping the Nike G.T. Future if you want a truly performance-oriented hooper.

If you want to reap the benefits of Nike's cutting-edge technologies firsthand, you can get the flagship LeBron 23 at the same price point. Another well-cushioned option that keeps topping our basketball shoe rankings is the Nike G.T. Hustle 3.

And if you have time to explore more, see our extensive guide on the best basketball shoes as of today.

'Most advanced underfoot technology' is promised in the G.T. Future's product description, as the shoe packs a top-loaded full-length Zoom Strobel, a large forefoot Air Zoom unit, and a Cushlon 3.0 foam in the rest of the midsole.

And just like that, this powerful combo returned by far the highest shock absorption measurements among our lab-tested basketball shoes! With a whopping 130 SA in the heel and 120 SA in the forefoot, this Nike shoe outperformed the G.T. Jump 2*!

The underfoot comfort and impact protection we experienced in this hoop shoe were truly outstanding...But alas, it didn't help the G.T. Future make it into any of the top picks in the basketball shoe category, given its failure in many other design aspects (more on that below).

*We were utterly surprised to learn that the G.T. Future replaced the G.T. Jump series, given the polar opposite visual designs of the two.

Whenever Nike mentions 'most advanced' cushioning and 'game-changing explosiveness,' we immediately think ZoomX foam.  And we did expect to see some ZoomX foam for the price, as it's featured in the brand's other $200 shoes, like LeBron 23 and the Jordan 40.

But not this time around.

With a moderate energy return of 55.5% in the heel but a much snappier experience in the forefoot (68.1%), the G.T. Future's ride feels lively but not as explosive as that of the G.T. Cut series.

Unfortunately, the shoe's massive weight and clunky silhouette make it challenging to benefit from this responsiveness on the court.

It's difficult to estimate the G.T. Future's stack height visually without slicing it in half, as its upper is directly molded into the shoe's outsole.

In a cut-away view, our caliper showed a moderate, slightly above-average stack height of 31.3 mm in the heel.

Several layers of cushioning technologies in the shoe's forefoot raised its stack height slightly above the average at 24.6 mm.

The heel-to-toe drop, therefore, proved moderate and on par with the average for basketball shoes at 6.7 mm.

The shoe's primary Cushloln 3.0 foam proved to be on the soft side, showing one of the lowest durometer readings at 33.9 AC.

However, there is no sinking into this plush foam, as the Zoom Strobel above it and the foamposite walls around it balance the ride, keeping the compression under control. In fact, we only experienced light compression directly underfoot, inside the shoe.

The Nike G.T. Future's fit is rather tricky, and it likely won't agree with most foot shapes. But let's take a closer look at our one-to-one gel mold of the shoe's interiors to figure out why.

Measuring the widest part of the mold, our digital caliper showed an above-average reading of 95.2 mm. In fact, it even falls into the wide-width category of hoop shoes!

The narrower part of the shoe's toebox doesn't deviate much from the average either, measuring 69.2 mm.

So what's the catch here? It's the G.T. Future's extremely low toebox height that makes it unbearable to wear for long periods.

At only 20.7 mm, it gets extremely shallow towards the front, putting a lot of pressure on the toes and toenails.

Testing the G.T. Future's stopping power in our lab test, we recorded a solid friction coefficient of 0.68.

Even though it's not the tackiest experience, it grips the court when it matters while allowing pivots and transitions when needed.

The tread pattern of this Nike kick is as simple and straightforward as it gets. A triangular pattern in its forefoot accommodates multi-directional movements, while the heel treadlines go in semi-circles for smoother transitions.

One thing that becomes immediately apparent before you even put the Nike G.T. Future on is its mind-blowing stiffness. It is actually the most rigid, unyielding hoop shoe we've ever tested!

Measuring the amount of force it takes to bend by 30 degrees (31.5N), we found that the G.T. Future requires 54% more effort than the average basketball shoe!

But it's not a very welcome sort of rigidity, not the one that makes the shoe feel snappier or more stable. It's comparable to a ski boot that limits mobility and proprioception for the sake of secure containment.

This is where we pause, close our eyes, and let out a deep, heavy sigh...Just as heavy as the G.T. Future itself...

Because, seriously, the massive weight of this Nike kick (17.2 oz/488g) even surpassed that of the Reebok Shaq Attaq at 16.7 oz (473g)! And it's an insane 3.5 oz heavier than the average for basketball shoes!

The shoe's unforgivingly heavy weight practically cancels out its excellent cushioning setup and effective traction, making us feel like we're constantly dragging our feet.

The very look of the Nike G.T. Future doesn't promise much ventilation, as its perforations are limited to the tongue and the inner side of the upper.

But the fact that a small amount of smoke still managed to escape through the shoe's tongue area saved it from getting the lowest breathability score and bumped it up to 2 out of 5.

As for the rest of the G.T. Future's upper, it's made of a dense foam covered with a dynamic external synthetic skin that doesn't allow any airflow.

An up-close look at it through our microscope revealed a very peculiar and unique texture, as it's made of millions of tiny beads.

Another paradoxical aspect of the Nike G.T. Future is that it doesn't feel as stable and supportive as it seems, given its tough, stout structure!

The video above shows how our foot is on the verge of rolling over right inside the shoe!

No matter how much we tried to secure our fit inside the shoe's interior bootie, our feet never felt quite locked in place.

And if you're wondering if those extended collar wings add any lateral support, they absolutely do not. In fact, they bring nothing but distraction, slapping against our ankles during side-to-side movements.

It is also one of the very few basketball shoes these days that doesn't pack a shank! The blue piece at the bottom of the shoe's heel is actually just blue foam that compresses just as easily as the rest of the midsole foam!

But it's the shoe's moulded upper design, in which the upper is stitched directly into the hard rubber outsole, that makes the G.T. Future so hard to twist in our manual test.

That earned this Nike shoe the highest torsional rigidity score of 5/5.

We also found this Nike shoe's heel counter and entire rearfoot section exceptionally stiff and unyielding, scoring the maximum 5/5 in our manual test.

But while it's supposed to contribute to the shoe's stability on paper, it fails to work properly in practice if you don't get the fit and lockdown right. We found that the shoe's lacing system isn't effective enough at securing a proper fit in our case, resulting in some annoying foot shifting and sliding inside the shoe.

Our caliper measurements confirmed that the G.T. Future's platform is notably broader than average at 119.2 mm in the widest part of the forefoot.

Its heel section also showed a slightly wider-than-average reading of 91.7 mm.

But given the lack of a proper lockdown in this Nike shoe, the added width only contributes to the bulk without much help for stability.

But on a positive note, the G.T. Future's dense upper material proved to be rather hard-wearing, showing merely cosmetic wear in our Dremel test.

Assessing the minor damage left by the tool's sanding tip, we rated the shoe's toebox durability at a relatively high score of 4 out of 5.

The shoe's silky neoprene-like lining also showed great abrasion resistance, proving to be immune to our Dremel test. That earned it a higher score of 4 out of 5 as well.

As for the G.T. Future's outsole treading, it showed just a standard amount of wear, with a 1.2 mm deep dent.

But given the thin, spaced-out placement of the shoe's tread lines, we wouldn't recommend taking it out for a pickup game on the blacktop, as the tread will wear out much sooner than desired.

But if you stick to indoor courts, we expect a normal lifespan from the G.T. Future, especially given its 4.0 mm outsole.

Nike placed a moderately thick insole of 3.7 mm into the G.T. Future and we don't think it needs to be any thicker given the abundant cushioning setup beneath it.

The shoe's insole is removable, allowing a custom orthotic to be inserted if needed.

As you can see, it features perforations arranged in the shape of a large Swoosh logo, but their role in overall heat and moisture management is very minor, so if you opt for an alternative insert, you won't lose much airflow.

The synthetic skin on the G.T. Future's upper proved to be fully reflective, making the entire shoe visible in low-light conditions!

Even though the shoe's heel collar is rather generously padded, its tongue turned out to be notably thinner than average at only 5.5 mm.

We believe that it contributes to the shoe's containment problem, as it hardly buffers the instep from lace pressure. And the fact that its laces are so thin and they need to be cinched up so tightly to get a more or less secure fit, makes the lack of padding even more prominent.

Perhaps the shoe could provide better lockdown if it had a fully gusseted tongue, but it's not attached to the rest of the upper.

This Nike shoe features no finger loops or pull tabs. But we don't think any of them are needed, given the shoe's easy entry.

To be completely honest, we believe that the Nike G.T. Future is a rather expensive white elephant. Visually striking? Definitely. Packed with cool technologies? Sure. But in its entirety, it just isn't worth the $200 price point as a performance basketball shoe. Perhaps only as a fashion statement.