Nike Giannis Immortality 2 review

Who should buy the Nike Giannis Immortality 2

This cheap signature shoe from Nike Basketball serves the following best:

• players who are looking for signature models that do not break the bank
• athletes who play on both indoor and outdoor courts
• wearers who want performance shoes that can double as everyday sneakers
• guards or players who are nimble and do a lot of fine footwork

Who should NOT buy this shoe from Nike

The Nike Giannis Immortality 2 is not for bigger players who need a lot of support, stability, and impact protection. We believe that the Nike LeBron 20 and the other LeBron kicks are better picks for them. 

While this shoe's traction is good, it is still not on the same level as the Nike Ja 1. Those players who are looking for top-tier traction should just go directly for these shoes.

Comfortable upper materials

The upper is made largely of a very open mesh, which ensures ventilation.

Using a smoke-pumping machine, we assessed the shoe's breathability by the amount of smoke passing through it. The Giannis Immortality 2 gets a solid 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the most breathable). This is airier than the majority of basketball shoes.

Nike Giannis Immortality 2 (left) vs. Nike Lebron 20, the suede variant (right)

The transparency check below confirms our findings from the smoke test.

In addition to being breathable, the shoe's upper material is also quite soft, and we find it comfortable on the skin. It also conforms to the shape of our feet quite well.

We also dived deeper and had a look at the upper material through a microscope.

There are multiple layers to the fabric with prominent ventilation holes. This design balances out breathability with support and wear resistance.

Has a solid bite once broken in

There is no doubt that this quite affordable signature shoe from Nike has the kind of traction that you can depend on. Although we are convinced that its traction is very solid, we don't regard it as top-tier.

This shoe is simply not up there with the likes of the Nike PG 6 or even the original Nike Giannis Immortality. It is also necessary to point out that the solid rubber outsole still has to be broken in before it works optimally.

The Giannis Immortality 2 is sensitive to dust

As said, the traction is OK. However, problems started to arise when we played on quite dusty surfaces. We observed that the shoe's outsole picks up dust, so wiping is really needed. Sometimes, it required us to wipe the outsole at least twice before we could even get the dust off. 

Has a for-guards cushioning system

While the shoe's cushioning system is already pretty nice for an $85 shoe, we discovered that it still has its serious limitations. The court feel is really good and the whole setup is quite responsive, but impact protection is not that reliable. Your feet are definitely gonna hurt upon hard impact.

We recommend this shoe if responsiveness and ground connection are what you prefer. But if you are looking for a shoe with great impact protection, this shoe is just not it.

This is curious because the amount of cushioning in Immortality 2 actually exceeds the average. Using a pair of calipers, we measured the heel stack at 29 mm, which is a little thicker than the average 28.2 mm.

In the forefoot, the calipers show 23.8 mm of stack height. This is 2.8 mm thicker than the average.

Provided that the Giannis Immortality 2 has an ample amount of cushioning for a standard basketball shoe, we thought that the problem with impact protection must be coming from the nature of its foam.

Using a durometer, we found that this Nike shoe is far from being the brand's softest hoop shoe. It turns out to be 13% firmer than the average of basketball shoes we've tested.

If you want a moderately-priced shoe with much softer cushioning and better impact protection, have a look at the Jordan Luka 1.

Light as a feather

We are so impressed with the weight of the Nike Giannis Immortality 2.

At only 10.4 ounces or 295 grams, this shoe is well below the 12.4 oz (352 grams) average that we have on record. For sure, this shoe feels pretty minimal on foot.

Smooth steps, anyone?

The heel-to-toe transition in this shoe feels pretty damn smooth. This is thanks to the heel and the tip of the forefoot having a crazy curved shape, which allows each of our steps to just glide smoothly. There is also a lot of forefoot flex, further smoothening out our strides.

This shoe is not clunky at all, and it helps us to be even quicker on our feet.

Indeed, the Giannis Immortality 2 is much bendier than the rest of the basketball shoes in our lab. Measuring the shoe's resistance as we bent it to a 90-degree angle, we found that it was 27% more flexible than the average.

Disclaimer: We repeat the gauge measurement four times and calculate the average. The video shows one of the takes we made.

The shoe's flexibility also becomes apparent in our manual assessment. Twisting and bending the shoe, we rated both its longitudinal and torsional flexibility as 4 out of 5 (where 5 is the stiffest). For basketball shoes, this is still considered flexible because the respective averages are 3.9 and 4.4.

The Nike Giannis Immortality 2 fits as expected

This Nike shoe fits true to size. We didn't need size adjustments as it fits like a glove. We also recommend sticking to your normal size when you get this one.

There appears to be a generous toe space in the shoe's forefoot. In the widest part of the toebox, this Nike shoe is 103.3 mm wide (4.5 mm wider than average). And near the toes, we measured it at 78.1 mm (0.6 mm wider). So, even for a wide-footed player, the fit is going to be just right. 

A fully gusseted tongue is such a nice surprise in a low-budget shoe. It contributes to a safe and sound foot lockdown.

We encountered no heel slippage in this shoe. Our heels and ankles are safeguarded by a stiff heel counter. On a 1-5 scale where 5 is the stiffest, we assessed it as 4 out of 5.

Support and stability experience drawbacks

We discovered that the soft and comfortable upper has a significant tradeoff: it lessens the amount of support that the shoe can deliver. Specifically, we found that the soft material stretches quite fast. Because of this, the shoe gets roomier with every wear. As a result, the shoe starts to feel a bit unstable.

With this, there could be a little bit of work when it comes to stability.

But what saves the day for the shoe's stability is its wider-than-average platform.

We measured the widest part of the forefoot to be 5 mm wider than average, while in the heel it is a shopping 7.6 mm wider!

The Giannis Immortality 2 can be used outdoors

The rubber outsole of this shoe feels super hard. Hence, the Giannis Immortality 2 is suitable for use on rough outdoor courts.

Based on our durometer measurements, the rubber used for the shoe's outsole is among the hardest you will find. It is 6% firmer than the average.

It is also a little harder than the rubber found on the Nike Cosmic Unity 2 and the Jordan Zion 2 (both recommended for outdoor use).

The outsole thickness is also solid on this Nike shoe. We measured it at 3.8 mm which is the average number for basketball shoe outsoles.

Our only concern about using this Nike shoe outdoors is the durability of its upper fabric. Having gone through our Dremel wear and tear, the mesh upper on the toebox didn't perform all that well.

You want to be careful when toe dragging in the Nike Giannis Immortality 2. It is a budget shoe after all.