Nike G.T. Cut Academy review

Don't let the G.T. Cut Academy stay forever on your wish list if you're looking for:

• A Nike shoe that offers customised lockdown and containment.
• An affordable pair from a well-known brand that features its technologies (Zoom Air).
• A padded and light hooper ready for quick cuts and harsh rebounds.

Forget about this shoe if you're looking for a hoop partner that will play with you for a long time. If that's your case, we believe you should check the durable Precision 7, which is also an affordable Nike basketball shoe!

The G.T. Cut Academy is definitely not a breathable model! Trust us, if you hoop in the summer with these kicks... your feet are gonna need a break from all the sweating. If you want your toes to enjoy a nice breeze, leave it to the UA Curry 10 or Curry 11! Just take into account that newer signature pairs tend to be more expensive.

Let us get straight to the point: this shoe felt hot.

That's what our feet said after our wear tests, and we could clearly see it when we took it to our lab. During our breathability test with the smoke machine, the G.T. Cut Academy didn't want the air to get away from it. Just compare its performance with the Curry 10, which most likely was a train in its past life, to see the difference!

We checked the upper using our light just in case there were some hidden ventilation holes but... nothing at all.

Our microscope agreed after having a look at the knitted pattern of the upper. As it's tightly woven, there's no way our feet would breathe comfortably in that. Consequently, we've given this Nike a 2/5 on our breathability test.

Even though this shoe feels comfortable and fast on foot, its transitions are definitely not the smoothest.

At 53.7N, it's a solid 26% stiffer than average, which means it's harder to bend it on the metatarsal area. It gave in little by little after the break-in period, yeah, but even after some games we can't say it rolled easily alongside our feet!

After its less-than-graceful performance on our breathability test, the G.T. Cut Academy was up for a harder battle. It was the moment to redeem itself and show us that the lack of ventilation of its toebox came because of its toughness!

Well, the tool attacked the knit and... messed it up. If we look at the inner side of the shoe, right in the toebox, there's a wax top layer that protects the material.

But we always put out Dremel in the very same spot. Why? Because in that way, we can compare the results of every shoe that gets the VIP pass to our lab!

This is exactly what we mean! Even though we've decided to give the Nike G.T. Cut Academy a 3/5 on our toebox durability test, which is not the highest grade, it doesn't sound that bad if we compare it to the results of the Nike Precision 6: a sad 1/5!

Anyone would believe that the toebox and the heel of a shoe should get the same score on our durability tests, yet it doesn't always match. And the G.T. Cut Academy is here to show you an example!

Even though our Dremel tried its best, the heel of this Nike pair held on for dear life! The tool could barely scratch it, so we gave it a well-deserved 5/5 on our heel padding durability test.

We could barely see it! This result becomes all the more impressive if we compare it with the poor Reebok Answer DMX and its messy 1/5 on this same test. Look!

When our durometer returned 90.0 HC, we couldn't help but nod. Now that's impressive!

This means the outsole of the G.T. Cut Academy should be more durable than average. Even so, the score is not so high for it to lose traction. But hey, no spoilers! We'll talk about this soon enough, but in its corresponding section.

Once we put our hands on the heel counter, we knew it had followed the same path as the rest of this Nike's structure.

Not even the laterals were that forgiving this time, and the Achilles area... pretty much felt like a wall! Even though this meant the shoe would require some break-in, it also translated into great support and containment. Our heel stayed right where it should, which made us feel safe and confident during our games.

Honestly, that's pretty much all we need to hoop!

With a thickness of 4.2 mm, this shoe's outsole is just average.

Nevertheless, our durometer market returned a high result. Consequently, we don't believe this Nike would need a thicker outsole, as the material is already pretty hard.

Going for a bigger rubber piece would just add some undesirable extra weight to the G.T. Cut Academy!

During our wear tests, this pair felt pretty nimble on foot. When we ran up and down the court, we felt quite fast, and even though we need to partially thank the midsole for this, its low weight also played an important role here.

So when we took this Nike to our lab and put it on the scale, we were really happy with the result. At 12.05 oz/342.0g, it's definitely on the lighter side of the basketball shoes.

This translated into quick footwork and extra comfort. Overall, playing in the G.T. Cut Academy was really nice. And it didn't make our legs too tired too soon!

This Nike pair's heel stack is slightly higher than average.

At 31.6 mm, our calliper and our feet agreed this shoe is really comfortable. We also felt its cushioning was safe enough for us to blindly and aggressively go for rebounds, which is something we really appreciated as it goes hand in hand with our playstyle!

Following the same path, the forefoot stack is also slightly higher than average.

At 23.5 mm, this Nike pair felt comfortable and safe in our landings during our wear tests. Its cushioning and technologies helped us with its comfort and energy return to move quickly, jump, land, and fast footwork.

With a standard drop of 8.1 mm, we didn't have to get used to the G.T. Cut Academy or readapt our stride. It felt natural and comfortable on foot, which made us enjoy our playtests even more!

In order to measure and analyse a shoe completely, here in RunRepeat we cut it in half. This also lets us see everything it's hiding, from the cushioning to the padding.

In this case, the G.T. Cut Academy features a bottom-loaded Air Zoom Unit that felt pretty springy, offering us great energy return for quick moves. We found it super helpful for cuts and steps, as it gave us some bounce back every time we pressed this technology against the court.

This shoe features a double-foam midsole that felt incredibly comfortable during our games.

First, we measured the red foam (in this colorway), which is closer to the foot; and our durometer returned 19.6 HA. This score is way lower than average, which means it felt really soft underfoot. This elevated our comfort levels, and we loved every bit of it.

Then, we analysed the white foam (also in this colorway), which is closer to the ground. Our durometer now showed a harder result of 26.5 HA. This adds some durability and stability to the ride.

At 4.4 mm, our calliper confirmed this shoe's insole is average and simple.

There's nothing special here, so let's move on!

If we take into account our vast experience in shoes, we can't say the G.T. Cut Academy is the most stable model we've ever reviewed. But we can say its containment and lockdown feel are both fantastic, and our wear tests proved it!

As you can see in the video, our ankles didn't get to play much from side to side. The upper of this Nike stopped any excessive movements, keeping our joints safe.

The G.T. Cut Academy has a well-structured upper, and our torsional rigidity test verified it!

Our thumbs struggled a lot, yet they couldn't get this model to bend at their will! That's why we've given it a solid 5/5 on our torsional rigidity test.

Once we put our hands on the heel counter, we knew it had followed the same path as the rest of this Nike's structure.

Not even the laterals were that forgiving this time, and the Achilles area... pretty much felt like a wall! Even though this meant the shoe would require some break-in, it also translated into great support and containment. Our heel stayed right where it should, which made us feel safe and confident during our games.

Honestly, that's pretty much all we need to hoop!

The midsole width in the forefoot of this pair is average, at 115.1 mm according to our calliper.

Even though this is nothing crazy, we found this shoe pretty stable when we landed. Why? Well, because of the protuberance this shoe's sole has on the outer side! It helped us regain balance when we landed after a rough hit mid-air in the rebound.

At 88.2 mm, the G.T. Cut Academy midsole width in the heel is slightly narrower than average.

Despite what our calliper says, we didn't feel unstable underfoot. So don't worry!

Even though this shoe feels comfortable and fast on foot, its transitions are definitely not the smoothest.

At 53.7N, it's a solid 26% stiffer than average, which means it's harder to bend it on the metatarsal area. It gave in little by little after the break-in period, yeah, but even after some games we can't say it rolled easily alongside our feet!

When we played on clean courts, this pair offered us great traction.

Its spiky herringbone pattern bit the floor confidently, but we can't really say it also did it constantly. Whenever the court was dirty or after playing for a bit, as the dust started to accumulate, we felt we were slipping way more.

But by saying this, we obviously don't mean these are ice skates either! Its grip level was enough for us to feel confident whilst playing, and even though we needed to wipe them a couple of times throughout our matches, we can't say we're unhappy with the traction provided.

As long as you keep the outsoles clean, they'll bite. That sums it all up!

At 109.2 mm, this shoe's toebox width at the widest part is way wider than average.

This time, we also measured the rubber protection that surrounds the forefoot, acting like a barrier to protect the foot from the abrasion of the court. Many of us tend to drag our toes in some movements, even if we don't realise it! We felt this was especially true when we were trying to explain or show someone a specific move, like a step to overcome our defenders.

To see how much this Nike pair tappers, we measured the toebox width at the big toe without the protective rubber layer.

At 77.1 mm, our standard-sized feet enjoyed a snug fit. Nevertheless, we can see wide-toed hoopers feeling cramped and even slightly uncomfortable in this shoe!

To see how much this Nike pair tappers, we measured the toebox width at the big toe without the protective rubber layer.

At 77.1 mm, our standard-sized feet enjoyed a snug fit. Nevertheless, we can see wide-toed hoopers feeling cramped and even slightly uncomfortable in this shoe!

Despite its wonderful containment, what we definitely did not expect here was a gusseted tongue... yet we were surprised by one!

We were pretty happy with it, as the shoe itself is already pretty lightweight, which means this supportive extra feature wouldn't hurt. What's more, it improves the containment given by the multiple eyelets we saw at the top.

We really appreciated this feature, as it gives every player the freedom to tie their laces their own way! You can try multiple lacing techniques thanks to this, so don't hesitate to have a look at our guide just in case you need some inspiration.

A puffy tongue is all we needed as the final touch of this Nike pair's containment.

And, as you can see, we got it! The best part is that the G.T. Cut Academy's tongue accumulates its padding right at the top, a key area, as that's where we'll be tying our laces.

Overall, this shoe's interiors are pretty padded (just look at that heel collar!) and the upper material is not stretchy at all. This is a clear indicator of its snug fit, so don't expect it to give in a lot!

This hooper doesn't have any kind of heel tab at the back.

Its tight structure and unforgiving materials made putting our foot in slightly harder in comparison with other models, but it wasn't challenging or anything!

Removable insoles are our thing, and the G.T. Cut Academy complied!

As we stated before, this pair has a pretty standard insole. Nothing special, really. But don't you worry about a thing: you can just change it and use your own orthotics!

The G.T. Cut Academy doesn't feature any reflective elements according to our lab results.