Jordan Tatum 4 review

The Tatum 4 may interest players who value the following features in their basketball shoes:

• a lightweight and nimble construction
• a good court feel over abundant or explosive cushioning
• a shoe with solid durability that can handle occasional streetball games

Its moderate price point should not be an excuse for the Tatum 4's poor outsole traction. The same retail price can get you a super sticky grip in the Adidas D.O.N. Issue 7 and the Nike Book 1.

And if you are a bigger player who needs more stack and impact protection underfoot, check out the PUMA All Pro Nitro 2 or the New Balance TWO WXY V5.

A mix of Cushlon 3.0 foam and a large Air Zoom unit in the forefoot looked like a promising setup.

And Tatum 4 indeed showed a solid measurement of 100 SA in the heel. However, its forefoot shock absorption turned out to be concerningly low at only 34 SA! This is one of the lowest readings we've ever recorded in the basketball shoe category, making this Jordan shoe a poor choice for players with toe joint pain or ball of the foot pain.

But at least it offers a pretty sensitive court feel in return, catering to those who prefer a more intimate connection with the ground.

The shoe's product description proudly states that the Tatum 4 'takes inspiration from track and field shoes to deliver the responsiveness and propulsion.'

However, our energy return measurements showed a pretty moderate reading of 61.0% in the heel of this Jordan shoe and even less in its forefoot - 52.4% (despite the enlarged Air Zoom unit inside).

The Tatum 4 lacks the explosiveness offered by similarly priced shoes, such as the Nike Sabrina 3 (61/71%) or the Adidas AE 2 (61/65%).

But everything fell right into place the moment we checked this Jordan shoe's stack height with a digital calliper.

The tool recorded as little as 24.8 mm in its heel, proving it to be one of the absolute lowest among basketball shoes! It is at the very bottom of the category spectrum, along with the Jordan Zion 4 (25.2 mm), and is even lower than the Nike Sabrina 3 (26.1 mm).

The shoe's forefoot stack also proved to be one of the lowest at only 17.0 mm, making it the right option for players who value that low-to-the-court experience.

The heel-to-toe drop, on the other hand, brought no surprises with a standard offset of 7.8 mm. It's a balanced sole geometry that should feel familiar to most players.

The full-length Cushlon 3.0 foam proved to be nice and soft in the Jordan Tatum 4. It's not encased in any other firm blend except for the shoe's rubber outsole, reflecting in a pronounced squish.

Pressing our durometer against the compound returned a below-average reading of 14.4 HA, which is significantly softer than average and is on par with the famous ZoomX foam!

However, the shoe's lower stack height helps to keep the squish under control to prevent wobbliness.

While we wouldn't call it a narrow shoe, we found the Tatum 4's upper fairly close-fitting.

Having made a one-to-one gel mould of the shoe's interiors enabled us to measure its precise dimensions with a calliper. The latter recorded a slightly below-average reading of 90.8 mm in the widest part of the mould, confirming that this Jordan shoe belongs to the narrow range.

But at least there is no aggressive tapering to the shoe's toebox shape, and it showed a normal width of 70.1 mm in the big toe area.

The Tatum 4 also turned out to have some decent vertical space with a toebox height of 25.0 mm.

Its solid upper is not as constricting as it might seem.

The outsole traction of this Jordan hoop shoe is the complete opposite of sticky!

Measuring the friction it generates on polished hardwood, our machine recorded a very low coefficient of 0.49. This is one of the lowest traction results we've seen among basketball shoes!

It does get a little better after a break-in period, but if you need a solid bite from day one, we highly recommend getting one of these high-traction hoop shoes instead.

The Tatum 4's outsole is composed of two rubbers - one is placed in the centre and the other lines the perimeter. Both feature a classic herringbone tread pattern, but the tread lines face different directions.

From our personal experience, the centre rubber gripped the court a little better than the exterior blend.

Its stiff TPU sidewalls don't seem to limit the Tatum 4's forefoot flexibility, while its low stack height also allows for a greater range of motion.

Our stiffness test confirmed that it takes a little less force (18.1N) to bend this Jordan shoe by 30 degrees compared to the average basketball shoe. The mobility here feels well-balanced and controlled.

The Jordan Tatum 4 is positioned as the brand's lightest basketball shoe, and we partially agree with that.

On the one hand, it is indeed on the lighter end of the spectrum at 12.4 oz (352g) in a men's US size 9. It feels nimble on the foot, making cuts, sprints, and jumps quicker and easier.

But on the other hand, it is undercut by the Jordan Luka .77 at 12.3 oz (349g).

Stay away from the Jordan Tatum 4 if you hate the feeling of hot and sweaty feet!

Its upper is made of a dense, fuzzy material that feels like synthetic suede. It didn't let a single little billow of smoke pass through it in our breathability test.

And to our disappointment, the mesh panels on the shoe's sides didn't function as proper air channels either.

Although basketball shoes in general tend to be less breathable than running shoes or casual trainers, some of them are particularly poor at ventilation and heat management. And the Tatum 4 is one of those shoes.

Thus, it gets the lowest breathability score from us - only 1 out of 5.

Although we can't complain about the Tatum 4's stability in general, it won't be our top basketball shoe pick for ankle support.

The low-stack platform of this Jordan shoe serves as the foundation for its stable and grounded ride, while its TPU cupsole adds some essential side-to-side support. But that's about it when it comes to this Jordan shoe's stability. There are no internal shanks or any other stabilising components here.

But we wouldn't call it a floppy mess either, as the shoe still has some solid torsional rigidity to it. We gave it a high score of 4 out of 5 on a 1-5 stiffness scale based on the results of our manual twisting test.

Its heel counter, on the other hand, proved to be way more pliable, yielding to our push-and-squeeze test quite easily. We rated it with a below-average stiffness score of 3 out of 5.

The absence of a stout heel counter helps reduce the shoe's weight and benefits players who don't like to be limited in the range of motion. But on the downside, it detracts from the shoe's support and containment, feeling 'swimmy' during aggressive lateral moves.

The Tatum 4's midsole dimensions aren't particularly broad either. Our calliper measurements confirmed that the shoe has a slimmer silhouette for players who prioritise agility.

The widest area of its platform measured only 111.2 mm, which is notably narrower than average. There is no large, pronounced outrigger here.

As expected, the shoe's heel width also fell below the average at only 85.1 mm in the widest part.

It may not be genuine suede, but it surely holds up like one!

Having put the Tatum 4's upper material through rigorous Dremel testing, we were pleased with how well it resisted the damage from sandpaper. On a 1-5 durability scale, we readily gave it a 4.

The mesh lining inside the shoe's collar wasn't as impressive, landing at a middle-ground score of 3/5.

The outsole rubber of this Jordan shoe also proved its worth in our Dremel test, remaining practically unscathed!

The dent from the damage turned out to be as minor as 0.7 mm, which is an excellent result given the shoe's moderate price point!

We were also pleased with the outsole thickness of the Jordan Tatum 4, as it closely matched the average at 3.6 mm.

We can almost recommend this hoop shoe for the blacktop due to its hard-wearing rubber and tough treadlines. But the fact that its Air Zoom unit touches the rubber from the inside holds us back. This means that once the shoe's rubber layer is worn out, the air unit is compromised as well.

The shoe's insole layer is moderately padded, showing 3.8 mm in the heel area.

The insole is not glued to the bottom of the shoe, making it easy to take out. However, the Tatum 4's slimmer profile may not fit all kinds of orthotics.

The internal padding is well-balanced in this Jordan shoe, showing a standard 9.3 mm of foam thickness in the tongue.

We also found an equal amount of padding in the shoe's heel collar.

The tongue is partially attached to the upper on both sides, which minimises its shifting.

The Jordan Tatum 4 is offered at an average basketball shoe price with just a tiny $5 increase from the previous version. We believe that it is reasonably priced for its construction and performance.

There is no pull tab or finger loop attached to the back of the shoe's collar.