New Balance has been churning out very solid basketball shoes for the last couple of years. In 2023 they put out one of the best shoes of the year, and perhaps the best new Balance Basketball shoe ever, the New Balance TWO WXY V3. The New Balance TWO WXY V4, therefore, has a very high bar to clear.

Jamal Murray, Dejounte Murray, Tyrese Maxey, and Darius Bazley will all be rocking the New Balance TWO WXY V4 in the NBA this season, which is great to see, and there have been several important changes in tech compared to last year’s model, which begs the question: Will they outperform the TWO WXY V3?

In this article, we are including the testing results of two of our expert testers. You can see Jackson’s on-court performance in the video above, and/or you can read Stanley Tse’s written review below.

UPDATE: The New Balance TWO WXY V4 made it onto our list of the the best outdoor basketball shoes of the year, and our list of the best basketball shoes in terms of ankle suport.

New Balance TWO WXY V4 Tech Specs:

New Balance TWO WXY V4 Traction

The Two Wxy v4 has a solid multi-directional pattern with a mix of rubber and foam and it’s very reliable. No matter what direction and how hard I pivoted, I never had any issue nor did I need to wipe the shoe’s outsole. To no surprise, because of the visually beefier outsole setup – these can be taken outdoors as well.

It’s so far been quite durable no matter the type of court I played on.

New Balance TWO WXY V4 Cushion

The New Balance Two Wxy V4 cushion features dual tech. New Balanced used both Fresh Foam X and FuelCell cushioning. This sole split setup is built to support both quick lateral movements and high-impact takeoffs and landings. For myself, it provided much-needed support for my heavy footing and the feedback was superb in terms of landings and pop-off on the initial first step.

I felt little to no fatigue with many hours of play. You do sit slightly higher due to the cushion setup compared with the V3. That’s not to say you don’t have a proper court feel, it’s just a slightly higher stack but still stable enough for play. New Balance did a fantastic job on this cushion technology iteration and now has officially set the bar high for all future hoops releases.

New Balance TWO WXY V4 Materials

The materials are comprised of a mix of mesh and synthetics for lighter weight while including a molded heel counter for lockdown. The shoe also features a combination of Freshfoam X and FuelCell cushioning setup that gives you a nice ride. A solid combo and mixture of materials for its price range.

New Balance TWO WXY V4 Support

The support comes directly from the fit, the step in comfort, and the traction. For the fit itself, as long as you lace in properly, and break in the shoe, you should be fine. The cushion provides ample support for easy transition on not only landing points but also stop and go. The traction stuck to the floor with my movements without any slippage. Overall, it’s solid in the support department.

New Balance TWO WXY V4 Fit

These shoes were supplied to me by New Balance. They sent me my true-to-size 13 which fit perfectly for the V3. However, I did have some reservations about the V4. The forefoot fits way more snugly on the V4 than the V3. One of the main issues is the material overlay usage.

One of the things I truly disliked was the area on top of my toe – where the “New Balance” tab is placed. That tag is stitched tightly at the throatline. That particular piece needed to be adjusted as it pressed on the top of my foot all the way until I broke in the foam of the shoe. That problem could easily be adjusted by switching to a more forgiving material like an elastic nylon piece instead of the heavily stitched tag.

I also wish the heel/ankle collar area had some extra cushion to make the shoe feel more comfortable. However, once you break in the shoe, get your popcorn ready because the shoe fits great. If you have a much wider foot, I suggest going with a colorway that has the WIDE option for the shoe.

New Balance TWO WXY V4 Overall

The V4 absolutely didn’t disappoint with a few minor caveats explained in the Fit section. Other than that, the V4 really knocked it out of the park in terms of damn near every aspect of performance. Do I prefer the V4 over the V3? Not necessarily. But I do prefer the cushion setup on the V4.

That’s not to say I didn’t like the V4. Every aspect of this shoe really mixes well. Kinda like peanut butter and jelly. For its price point, this shoe is an absolute gem. I highly recommend it to get you ready for battle. Now…New Balance…how are you going to top this? Both the performance bar and the anticipation are set super high. The ball is on your court.