Last year I was asked if I’d be interested in a little side project, one that would include me, 3 pairs of sneakers that weren’t intended for basketball and some time with them on-court. Of course I said yes…
I wound up taking the Jordan Trunner Pro Dominate back out for another spin, bringing a tennis shoe from the brand Prince known as the T22 along with the Under Armour Cam Highlight Trainer on-court to see how each one did. None of them were ‘bad’, they just all lacked in certain areas but the exact same can be said for some hoop shoes. To me, the most interesting thing about the project was finding out that there are more shoes out there that can play the game of basketball that don’t cost $130 and up and they were never designed with the sport in mind to begin with.
If you wanted to find out my thoughts on these three models on-court then head over to Sneaker Report to take a look. Feel free to come back here and let me know your thoughts and experiences as well, I’d love to hear about them.
Oh I remember I asked you to do the Cam highlight. Glad you got to try it. I saw Brandon Jennings rocking them on court
I am a volleyball player and the use of basketball shoes has compleatly takin over for vball it started with a kobe 6 for and I will never where a vball shoe again if you wanted to compare somthing I think that would be cool!
You should try the nike vapor 9 (or 9.5) tour- after trying almost every tennis shoe on the market (to play tennis), I have found them to be the best by far because of the superior fit, ventilation, comfort and support. Only issue may be durability, but trust me it is worth it
I know that there are other and better performing Tennis shoes avail, I just wanted to let people know that you could use other shoes that cost less and still perform well on-court. Appreciate the input!
No problem, keep up the good work! I’ve been following this site since early 2012 and it’s amazing to see how much it’s grown!
Without doubt, the Nike Vapor 9 Tour is my favourite tennis sneaker of all time. Amazing lockdown with the Dynamic Fit, great cushion and court feel with a phylon midsole and Zoom cushioning, and best of all, full length modified herringbone traction. Super for lateral movements, and great comfort and fit. Nightwing2303, you gotta try them out for ballin!
Yo add the Under Armour Gridiron Training with the straps
I forgot my bball shoes one day going to the gym, and I just said screw it, gonna ball in my gym shoes and was pleasantly surprised
Only thing is I noticed the outsole was just beginning to flatten out from all the friction, so not a long term bball shoe
But the strap is awesome in that shoe, great lockdown, and it has a TPU outrigger and Micro G
I swear, if UA could just put herringbone on that shoe, it’d be an amazing shoe for those seeking ultimate stability for bad ankles
CJ81 football trainer. I wear them sometimes for open gyms.
Interesting article. I read on an outdoor shoe discussion somewhere that tennis shoes can be used for outdoor basketball since they share similar traits. And I do have a friend who plays with tennis shoes and his lasted way longer than my Lebron X or Nike Lunarglide (running shoes).
Dude, Great article
Very cool to see some non hoops shoes used for ball. Makes me want to try more of my cross trainers for hoops.
I have had some good experiences and bad the most fun on a court with good traction were nike carnivores, I still hoop in a pair once in a while.
Hey nightwing/chris…. check out the crazy light boost 4 you’ll love it but it might be better full length boost …
I used to play in a pair of air max2 trainers back in the 90’s. They performed well and I enjoyed playing in those.
It’s a great idea to make this review/project in hooping with shoes not specifically made for hoops.
I believe there should be a handball shoe in the test as the sports have similar speeds, jumps and fast direction changes.
Its not about what shoe was tested, its about the fact that you can use other shoes that are more cost efficient to play the sport in.
I was just saying that because i played both sports and now use CL 3 in handball, and it would be nice to see a comparison or a review of an handball shoe.
+Nightwing2303 , Hey ?! Your correct about that because it’s not about what shoe was tested.