Denver Nuggets Shoes

361 has been making some really great basketball shoes. The 361 BIG3 5.0 Quick Pro has a weird name but is a great basketball shoe, and Aaron Gordon’s AG 5 is one of the most tech-heavy and well-performing basketball shoes on the market. The Joker 1, simply put, is a great first signature shoe, and there are not many (or any) better-equipped basketball shoes for $129. This is a very versatile basketball shoe. Whether you are a big, power-based player or a light, speedy guard, the Joker 1 has you covered. Read the full review. Price: $130

This is a super versatile basketball shoe with some elite features. Not only because it is built to cater to most playing styles, but because it will be able to handle the hardwood and the black top without skipping a beat. It’s also a great value pick. $120 is currently a very reasonable price for a basketball shoe, especially for a basketball shoe as solid as this one. Read the full review. Price: $120

If what you are looking for in a basketball shoe is elite performance, thoughtful, innovative design, and a reasonable price, you really should consider a shoe like this. The AG 5 is easily the best bang-for-your-buck basketball shoe currently on the market, and it’s as versatile as a shoe can be. The AG 5 is also packed with more tech than anything you will find in almost any other brand, The AG 5 proves that you can mass-produce a great, tough basketball shoe brimming with tech that most consumers can actually afford. Read full review. Price $130

This four-year-old shoe is no longer available to purchase at retail stores, but Westbrook still wears it because it was one of his better signature shoes. The shoe is light on foot, provides very solid foot containment, and, most importantly, performs well on the court and on the blacktop. In fact, the Jordan Why Not Zer0.4 made our best high tops of the year list when it the originally released. The shoe has very few flaws, except for the ample break-in time needed to get to the point where the shoe is enjoyable and manageable to play in. Read full review. Price $130

The Jordan One Take 4 was Russell Westbrook’s signature take-down model from 2023, and his last signature or semi-signature shoe with Jordan Brand. The Jordan One Take 4 is a very solid budget model, built for fast, agile guard-style players. The best feature of the shoe is by far the traction, which performs great on court and is also durable enough to handle the blacktop easily. Material quality isn’t great, but it is also a Jordan budget model. Price $90

The Nike Kobe 6 Protro is an excellent performer that stays true to Kobe Bryant’s legacy. Traction is outstanding, once broken in, cushioning is responsive, but some may miss the original Zoom Air configuration, materials are durable and functional, and the support features make these one of the best low-top designs for lockdown and stability. As far as fit goes, these do run very tight so you might consider going up half a size.

The Kobe 8 is one of the greatest guard shoes of all time. What else is there to say? If you are a Guard, then this is a shoe that you will appreciate, even in its less great Protro version. If there’s anything bad to be said about the Kobe 8, it is the upper durability issues on the medial side, but the Kobe is as durable as any other textile-upper hoop shoe. The new React drop-in midsole is more durable but denser than the original Lunarlon drop-in. Read the full review. Price: $180

The Puma All Pro Nitro takes a fresh approach, setting itself apart from its predecessor, yet manages to be an impressive continuation of the beloved performance basketball shoe. Expect exceptional traction, a plush and well-balanced cushioning system, and adequate materials that deliver performance, culminating in an outstanding performance basketball shoe that won’t disappoint. Read the full review. Price: $130

The Nike GT Cut 3 is a fun low-top basketball shoe. It’s bouncy, agile, and just one of those models that makes you want to sprint up and down the court as soon as you lace it up. The Zoom X does not disappoint, and Nike has done an outstanding job of implementing it into a basketball shoe. It’s soft and squishy, but by no means feels unstable or slow on court, and it might just be the best GT Cut model to date. Read the full review. Price: $190

The Nike LeBron 20 was the best basketball shoe of the 2022-23 season, and it is easily one of the best LeBron shoes to date. Here you are getting elite traction and cushioning, great materials, and one of the most mobile and agile LeBron shoes ever. It’s also one of the best Kobe substitutes you will find. Read the full review. Price: $200

Here we have another Kobe 6 in this case, the Nike Kobe 6 Protro Sail All-Star 2.0. It will offer the same performance as the Dodgers colorway of the shoe. If you’re interested, you can read the full (protro) performance review.

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, but it’s definitely a niche basketball shoe. The very low-profile cushioning system, the minimal support features, and the traction could make the Nike GT Hustle 2 one of the best guard shoes of the year, but it might not be enough for bigger players with a more power-based playing style (though DJ is trying to disprove that notion). The GT Hustle is a top-notch performance model, maybe just not for everyone. Read the full review. Price: $170

The original Nike Kobe 6 is one of the best performance basketball shoes ever created, and this updated protro version might just be a little bit better. Nike has brought us “protros” in the past that haven’t lived up to the term, offering little or no performance updates. Kobe, who actually coined the term, would be proud of this model as it makes an almost perfect shoe that much better.
As far as the colorway goes, it may not be as iconic as other colorways, but it’s still sleek and bright.

The Nike Kobe 4 Protro “Girl Dad” excels both in aesthetic appeal and material quality, featuring a premium suede upper that offers a luxurious look and feel. The shoe maintains key performance elements such as the aggressive herringbone traction pattern, a lightweight Phylon midsole, and a heel Zoom Air unit, which together provide good on-court performance. However, it falls short in terms of significant technological upgrades compared to the original model. The translucent outsole’s iridescent finish might not appeal to everyone, and the shoe’s breathability remains mediocre. Overall, the Kobe 4 Protro “Girl Dad” is more of a visually striking, elevated retro rather than a significant performance upgrade. Price $180