Reebok Angel Reese 1 review

We could tell Reebok put a lot of effort into the Angel Reese 1, and you'll definitely enjoy their hard work if:

• You're looking for a hoop with fantastic impact protection and great containment to pivot and fadeaway quickly and safely.
• You need a hoop that offers solid ankle lockdown and top-tier traction to follow your explosive moves and aggressive playstyle.
• You know comfort and beauty are not synonyms for underperforming; au contraire mon frère!

We know this hoop shoe is insanely pretty, and we too are die-hard fans of its aesthetics. Nevertheless... we just can't recommend it to you if you're looking for something nimble. If you're an agile guard, you'll definitely be better off with these lightweight basketball shoes!

Also, the Angel Reese 1's energy return is pretty much basic. If you need something more explosive but giving up the Barbie aesthetics is definitely a no, the Nike KD 18 might be exactly what you need. We pinky promise!

We enjoyed the wonderful cushioning setup of this Reebok shoe quite a lot during our wear tests. At 108/98 SA, its shock absorption is definitely higher than average, which means this hoop got us covered even in complicated rebound landings.

And its energy return is not bad either. It features nitrogen-infused SuperFloat foam, as well as the renewed Energy Return System (ERS) technology, which makes it not only comfortable, but also fairly bouncy. In our energy return test, it scored 60.4% at the forefoot and 57.3 % at the heel, average numbers that get the job done.

Its chunky aesthetics were verified by our caliper, which returned a high 32.7 mm when we measured this Reebok's heel stack.

And the forefoot is definitely not low either! At 26.3 mm, there's plenty of foam between our feet and the court to feel protected, but the best part is that this comfortable shield never made us feel disconnected from the ground.

These two higher stacks leave us with a standard 6.4 mm drop. So, nothing unusual here!

The Angel Reese 1 is a great example of comfort not being equal to mushy. When we pressed our durometer against its midsole, it returned 39.9 AC, which is a standard figure for the midsoles we've seen in the basketball category.

But there's also a secondary, carrier foam, which is closer to the ground to improve overall stability. You see, during our wear tests, this shoe felt incredibly comfortable, and we'd have never guessed our durometer would return 49.7 AC.

With a flabbergasting width of 98.3 mm, the first iteration of the Bayou Barbie offered our feet plenty of space.

And the taper is just insane! It narrows all the way down to 69.3 mm. Even though this is a standard figure, it shows why it's so important to measure the internal space of each shoe. So, thank you, green gel and freezer!

At 23.1 mm, the vertical space our toes got in the toebox was nothing crazy, but it felt just right. As you can see in the video below, it's not like the upper materials will give it, yet we didn't have any problems stretching our toes out.

Reebok knows that the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2026) needs the best grip possible, as following your attacker usually means instantly reacting to explosive moves, running up and down the court, and sometimes not even leaving her/his side!

With a wonderful 0.88 in our traction test, this shoe showed us it's much more than just a pretty court pal.

We love how Reebok actually introduced Angel Reese's initials in this shoe's outsole. You can see them in black in the picture below! It also features a wavy pattern, with lovely symbols in the midfoot and the technology's name at the forefoot, which has demonstrated that it's incredibly grippy.

As we've mentioned before, this shoe feels really comfortable in general, and part of that is due to its flexible nature. To be honest, we didn't expect such a chunky shoe to get a lower-than-average score of 17.3N on our flex test. But look at that!

Its multiple features and comfy, chunky vibe has made the Angel Reese 1... heavy. There's no other way to look at it! No rose-tinted glasses here; you're looking at a 15.5 oz/439g hoop, so don't expect something quick and fast or you'll be disappointed.

The lateral stability of this Reebok hop felt great. Our heels were locked in place, our feet couldn't overextend themselves... It definitely offers solid support, and the TPU upper isn't the only feature that helps!

At 20.1 Nm, our torsional rigidity machine put into numbers what we felt during our wear tests. This shoe's strong upper let us enjoy great containment to level up our game.

We were tickled pink with this Reebok's pair heel design. Not only does it have a lot of padding, it also features a double counter (internal and external) that offers great support. In other words, with a 4/5 in our test, you're getting the best of both worlds!

With a slightly narrower midsole at the forefoot, maybe Reebok was trying to reduce this shoe's weight, but... we can't say it worked. Anyway, our caliper returned 114.7 mm, but we never felt like we needed a wider landing base.

Nevertheless, its heel is much wider than what we usually see among basketball shoes! In fact, our caliper returned 98.5 mm, which is quite impressive.

The TPU layer at the toe area was thick enough to withstand our Dremel's attack, but it didn't end up with just a couple of scratches! So we gave it a standard 3/5.

The heel did it a bit better, as it has lots of protective padding and material. It earned a wonderful 4/5, which means it won't give up on you any time soon!

There are many times when grippy outsole compounds end up being too soft, which means they're more susceptible to wear and tear. However, the Angel Reese 1 lost only 1.0 mm of rubber, which means it's fairly durable!

Made with a pretty durable material, Reebok knew they didn't have to go for the thickest outsole. Our caliper returned 3.4 mm, which we feel is more than enough!

This shoe's puffy tongue felt incredibly comfortable from the very first minute we put it on. At 11.3 mm, we believe it's even a little bit too thick. The brand could've made it slightly thinner without losing its comfortable nature, which would have reduced the shoe's weight significantly, too!

The semi-gusseted tongue of this Reebok hoop was just one more detail that offered us solid support and containment during our game tests.

The 5.5 mm of the Angel Reese 1's insole offers some extra comfort, which is something that we always appreciate.

Its insole is removable! So, feel free to change it if you need to or want to, as it's barely thicker than average and the only special thing it features is the player's logo.

Who would ask about a heel tab with such a cool heel design!? Even though it would've definitely been helpful to put the shoe on, we didn't really have any problems, and it's so aesthetically pleasing... we wouldn't want it any other way!

Let us tell you this in all honesty: $135 for such a carefully and lovingly designed shoe feels just right. The details, the colorways... just by putting it on, we could tell Reebok had put quite some effort into the creation process, and we love that! Regarding performance, its solid impact protection, comfort, traction, and support just really give it away for us.