6 Best Basketball Shoes With A Wide Toebox in 2025

The New Balance TWO WXY V5 is a solid performer that’s proved its worth not only during our play tests, but also in our lab. Its versatility and playability are out of this world, and after our calliper readings, we couldn’t think of a better candidate for our best hooper overall with a wide toebox.

We didn’t let the support and containment we felt when we wore this NB pair trick us, as our toes had plenty of space to reposition themselves and land safely every time (yes, even after a rebound in traffic!). We created a gel mould of this hooper’s interiors, and when we measured its toebox width, our calliper returned a wide 71.2 mm. But this wasn’t the only measurement that surpassed the average, as our toes found plenty of vertical space to move around! At 26.8 mm, the TWO WXY V5 is way taller than average in this area.

This extra space pairs up really well with the overall protective structure of this shoe. For a start, it scored a 5/5 on both our heel counter and torsional rigidity tests. An armour of a shoe, indeed! But it never felt stiff underfoot, as it scored 101 SA on our shock absorption test. Last but not least, our durometer marked 21.5/14.5 HA on the primary and secondary foams of its double setup, which is plusher than average.

We really like this sturdy-up-soft-down design. Nevertheless, the lock-in feel this NB pair offers comes with a break-in period. But nothing too bad in our experience!

The G.T. Hustle 3 has turned our world upside down with this wonderful rework. We enjoyed its fantastic sole setup in every single one of our games, so we gave it our #1 as the hooper with the best cushioning and a wide toebox. But it wasn’t only our feet that felt this, our lab results also confirmed it!

When we measured its stack height, our calliper returned 32.8/26.8 mm at the heel and forefoot respectfully, surpassing the average by quite a lot. All this foam translated into a fantastic shock absorption of 117 SA at the heel and 120 SA at the forefoot, and we enjoyed it every time we jumped to fight for a rebound or when we had to roughly post-play. But our favourite part of this all is that these comfy landings are not just pillowy… but energetic! With a record-breaking reading of 81.5%, the Zoom Air unit of this shoe’s forefoot offered a wonderful energy return. We felt propelled after every lay-up!

The width of the G.T. Hustle 3 also makes its category average bite the dust. When we measured our gel mould, our calliper returned 94.6 mm on its widest point and 72.4 mm at the big toe. This translates into a roomier fit that paired up incredibly well with the softer landings we enjoyed thanks to this hooper’s foam. But that’s not all, as the vertical space of this Nike pair also breaks the hooper’s standard height with a great score of 24.3 mm.

The main issue we see here is that all this comfort doesn’t let you feel the court underfoot. Don’t expect any ground feel from the G.T. Hustle 3, as its quite high sole separates your feet off the ground quite a bit!

Being comfortable is one thing, but reaching a feet-heaven level is a completely different one! Well, after our wear and lab tests, we can assure you that the NB Fresh Foam BB V2 has managed to do it. That’s why it’s earned our gold medal as the wide-toebox hooper with the best comfort.

It features a full-length and dual-density Fresh Foam X midsole that feels incredibly soft and comfortable. With a durometer reading of only 13.1 HA, our feet enjoyed a plush ride from the very first moment we put this NB on. On a massive 34.9/25.6 mm tall (at the heel and forefoot respectively) sole, we didn’t have to worry about the court’s harshness. In fact, the 118 SA the Fresh Foam BB V2 scored on our shock absorption test at the heel kept us protected even when we post-played.

And the comfort underfoot matches… the comfort of the toes! To measure this shoe’s interiors precisely, we created a mould with our own special gel. Once it was ready, our calliper returned 72.3 mm when we measured its width at the toe area. This surpasses the average by quite a lot, just like the toebox height. At 25.2 mm, the sturdy upper of this hooper never pressed down our toes.

We absolutely loved all this space and comfort, but it does come with a price… the weight. The Fresh Foam BB V2 is not a light shoe, scoring 14.1 oz/400g on our scale when we took it to the lab.

Jumping is a key aspect of basketball, and who doesn’t want a pair of shoes that help them do it? Well, after smashing it on our wear and lab tests, the AJ XXXIX has earned the crown as the best hooper for jumps with a wide toebox.

Every landing felt magical with this Air Jordan. Our joints didn’t have a hard time, and even our knees were grateful for this shielding, so this pair was like the cherry on top for our jump-based playstyle! When we took it to the lab, our shock absorption machine confirmed it, as it earned a crazy 118 SA. But the best thing here is that, once we landed, we felt like this shoe propelled us back up in a heartbeat. With a whooping energy return of 67.8% at the heel and a crazy 74.9% at the forefoot, the winning combination of the ZoomX foam and Zoom Air units made us literally fly.

Our feet kept enjoying this shoe’s design at the top too, as its fit is roomier than average. We created a replica of its interiors using our own gel, and when we measured its width at the widest point, our calliper returned 94.7 mm. This wonderful piece of news was shortly followed by the wider toebox, with an above-average reading of 72.6 mm. And as the third time is a charm, the XXXIX’s toebox also offers a little bit more vertical space than what we usually see, reaching 24.0 mm.

The main issue that we found here is the instability of this hooper. This AJ doesn’t have any kind of stability details or features, so the shoe has nothing to control the explosiveness of its midsole.

After our wear and lab tests, our experience and data have proved the LeBron Witness 8 is the best hooper for beginners with a wide toebox. It gives you a little bit of everything and… you don’t need to sell a kidney to get it!

For a start, its materials are pretty durable, so even if you’ve just picked up the sport and your moves are still sloppy, this Nike can withstand it. With a solid 4 /5 on both our toebox and heel padding durability tests, it’s definitely made to last! Its high score on our torsional rigidity test just adds some extra points to this hooper’s stability, as its perfect 5/5 didn’t let us twist it at all.

Even though this pair is affordable, it comes with a pretty responsive cushioning. With a solid 59% and 60.3% (heel and forefoot respectively) on our energy return test, it reacted great to our powerful moves during our play tests. It felt almost as good as the extra space this Jordan offers at the big toe. With a calliper reading of 72.4 mm (average: 69.3 mm), our toes had room to spread and land safely after every rebound.

We saw why this Nike pair belongs to LeBron’s budget line when we analysed its outsole durability. Even though its traction is pretty solid (scoring a whole 0.74 on our test), our Dremel ate it up like dessert: the dent was 1.6 mm deep!

There are many players who can’t or don’t want to spend their savings on their next hopper, and the G.T. Academy knows it pretty well! After thoroughly analysing in and outside our lab, we’ve decided it's the best budget basketball shoe with a wide toebox.

For a start, its lower price point didn’t stop this Nike shoe from having a dual-density setup that features the brand's Renew foam, as well as a wonderful Zoom Air unit at the forefoot. This led to a wonderful shock absorption of 104/91 SA at the heel and forefoot respectively, which paired up with a pretty responsive score of 57.6/49.8% (also heel/forefoot) on our energy return test. Long story short: this hooper didn’t feel cheap at all underfoot!

But that’s not all, as it also has a pretty solid structure that scored two perfect 5/5 on our torsional rigidity and heel counter stiffness tests. But don’t let this fool you: even though the G.T. Academy offered us great support, it was never too tight. When we measured its width at the toebox using our newest gel, our calliper returned 72.5 mm, which is way higher than average. So we could splay our toes freely, as well as move them up, thanks to the 24.9 mm of vertical space this Nike offered.

We were pretty happy with this shoe’s overall design, yet we could see its budget nature shine a little bit too bright when we checked outsole (1.3 mm) and toebox (3/5) durability, underperforming compared to its category’s average.