Traction is the foundation of all basketball shoes. You can have great cushioning. You can have quality materials. You can even have all the support features ever known to footwear. But without a proper outsole grip, all of those are meaningless. You’ll be slipping and sliding all over the place, unable to do anything properly. That’s why we felt it essential to make our list of the Best Traction Basketball Shoes.
To some people, this aspect of a basketball performance shoe is the most important. Understandably so. We hope you’ll find the shoe with the proper traction for you and your needs on court. You can always also check out our list of the best overall basketball shoes as well. Now, here are the Best Traction Basketball Shoes.
Last updated 04.18.2024
Best Traction Basketball Shoes Show
Best Traction Basketball Shoes 2024 Overall
Serious Player Only Player 1 Plus
The Player 1 was already a great hoop shoe and the Player 1 Plus takes things to another level. Everything has been refined and improved slightly in this version of the shoe: more versatile traction, better materials, better fit, … it’s just a better performance basketball shoe. The biggest drawback of the Player 1 Plus is the price. $180 is, admittedly, steep. But you are getting a ton of bang for your buck and really excellent traction. Read full review. Price: $180
New Balance Fresh Foam BB V2
The New Balance Fresh Foam BB V2 just might be New Balance’s best basketball shoe to date. With this shoe, you’re getting elite traction that can handle outdoor play with ease, a thick plush cushioning system (that’s also ideal for outdoors), excellent materials and build, and this is completely subjective, one of the best-looking hoop shoes of the year. Read the full review.
Nike LeBron 21
The Nike LeBron 21 promises to be a beast on court. It can be described as a remix of the Nike LeBron 20, and, that shoe was amazing, and in fact the best basketball shoe from last year. Barring any unfortunate surprises, this will be one of the top models this year, one of the most versatile, and one of the most comfortable on court, as well as an attainable Kobe substitute. It also features practically the same traction set up as the LeBron 20, which was one of the best-tractioned basketball shoes of last year. Read the full review. Price: $200
Serious Player Only Player 1
This brand-new hoop shoe (and brand for that matter) features some of the best traction we have seen in 2023/24. The shoe is equipped with a solid rubber outsole, with full-length herringbone traction. The rubber is tremendously grippy but soft. And that is the one drawback: these are exclusively an indoor shoe. But indoors this is one of the best traction setups out there. Read full review. Price: $180
Nike Sabrina 1
The Nike Sabrina 1 is a great first signature shoe for Sabrina Ionescu and is one of the best basketball shoes Nike has to offer in 2023/24. The Sabrina 1 is a top-notch guard-style shoe that will give you great traction (indoors), a speedy and reactive cushioning setup, along with elite lockdown and support. If you’re looking for a basketball shoe with beefy and plush cushioning, this might not be the shoe for you, but that is hardly a drawback. Read the full review. Price: $130
Nike KD 16
The Nike KD 16 is another great hoop shoe in Kevin Durant’s signature line. The Nike KD 16 is very different from the Nike KD 15 (which was also an amazing hoop shoe) but there really haven’t been any downgrades. We have a new gear-shaped traction pattern etched into a translucent rubber sole that grips the court like no ones business (and actually works well outdoors), an excellent cushioning system that combines a cushlon midsole a large zoom unit in the forefoot, and an Air Stroble that covers the midfoot and heel. Price: $160
Curry 11
Under Armour’s approach to designing Curry shoes in recent years has apparently been “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. This has worked out well, as the Curry 8, the Curry 9, and the Curry 10 have all been excellent performance models, and each has improved slightly on the last. With the Curry 11 we might have reached the pinnacle of this approach. The one weakness of all the Flow Curry models has been the cushioning. Not that it was bad in any way, but Flow for basketball has been dense and neutral feeling underfoot, making the shoes that feature it fairly niche items.
With this new dual-density iteration of Flow, that one weakness has been addressed. This shoe has everything you know and love from the Curry signature line, with softer, bouncier cushioning. Read the full review. Price: $160
Way of Wade All City 11 V2
The Way of Wade All City 11 V2 is virtually identical to the original model, which is a very good thing. Both shoes feature amazing traction, which gets extra points for being outdoor-friendly. In the $150 price range, there really aren’t many shoes out there that will give you the same on-court performance, versatility, and all-around value as the Way of Wade All City 11 V2. Read the full review. Price: $150
Nike GT Hustle 2
The Nike GT Hustle 2 is the successor to, and an enormous improvement on the Nike GT Run and might just be one of the better performance models we see this year. It is also somewhat of a niche performance model. The very low-profile cushioning system (which features a full-length Zoom Air strobel), the minimal support features, and the traction could make the Nike GT Hustle 2 one of the best guard shoes of the year. Read the full review. Price: $170
Jordan Luka 2
The Jordan Luka 2 is a very similar shoe to the Jordan Luka 1, so it makes sense that it would make our list of the shoes with the best traction that is currently on the market. We have basically the same traction setup, very similar cushioning (if anything the Luka 2 is slightly bouncier), and the same spring plate. The Jordan Luka 1 was designed to enhance Luka’s patented stepback and the Luka 2 takes that concept to the next level. They do feel slightly stiffer and will require more breaking time. The fit is true to size. Read the full review. Price: $130
Curry 10
The Curry 10 is an improved version of an already great shoe, the Curry 9. The shoe features Under Armour’s Flow cushioning/traction system. Flow offers great impact protection and a seamless ride from heel to toe. The traction is GOAT-level on clean indoor courts, and you only need to wipe when playing on extremely dusty courts.
It sort of feels like a running shoe that has been beefed up for basketball, and it’s perfect for guards. The Curry 10 also features an improved and updated upper with Warp 2.0 that feels even more comfortable than the Curry 9’s upper. Read full review. Price: $160
Best Traction Basketball Shoes: Budget Options 2024
Check out our full list of the best budget basketball shoes here.
adidas Dame Certified
The adidas Dame Certified is Damian Lillard’s budget model for the year, a very solid performance basketball shoe overall. The Dame Certified features full-length Bounce cushioning which is on the reactive side, great durable traction, and a highly functional upper built with nice cheap layered materials. All of this for just $100, making this a great budget basketball shoe from adidas. Read the full review. Price: $95
Best Traction Basketball Shoes: Outdoor Options 2024
Check out our full list of the best outdoor shoes here.
Nike Air Max Impact 4
The Air Max Impact 4 is very similar to the Air Max Impact 3, and that’s a good thing. The Air Max Impact 3 was the best budget model of last year, and the Impact 4 will probably take those honors as well this year.
One stand-out feature of both shoes is the traction, particularly outdoors. You have a robust full-length herringbone traction pattern that is effective and durable, performing exceptionally well outdoors. See the full review. Price: $94
Best Traction Basketball Shoes: Retro Options 2024
Air Jordan 1
The Air Jordan 1 is arguably the most recognizable shoe of all time. Once you see that big Swoosh on the side with the Wings logo, you know what you’re getting. And part of what you’re getting is terrific traction. Although most of the retros aren’t for performance, the traction is undeniably excellent. Right there in GOAT status. Quite fitting, don’t you think? Chris can vouch for how good it is. It might just pop your hip out. See AJ 1 reviews. Price: $180
Nike Air Penny 2
The Nike Air Penny 2 screams 90s, and so does its traction. Even though we can talk all day about the beautiful Uptempo-inspired outsole, we can also say that it’s functional. What’s remarkable is that it also gives insight into the tech in the midsole. Other tech specs include the large-volume Air Max unit and a forefoot Zoom Air unit. There’s also a carbon fiber plate that’s interestingly implemented to reduce weight. Read the full review. Price: $200
Thinking of a shoe we should add to the best traction basketball shoes list? Comment below or message us on Instagram or Twitter.
