Nike Fly.By Mid 3 Performance Review

The Nike Fly.By Mid 3 is the third iteration of Nike’s cheapest basketball sneaker. These offer some good things, but most are just good enough for playing. Tech-wise, these are exactly the same as the Nike Giannis Immortality, but they come at a slightly lower price. As you can probably tell by that, there’s nothing really special about these sneakers. This shoe is really only for those who are looking to spend the least amount of money on a Nike basketball shoe.

Traction

Traction was good enough. There were times that it bit well, but there were also times that I noticeably slid, especially on dusty floors. I think the culprit for this is the traction pattern. Part of the forefoot and a little bit of the heel are wavebone, which works really well. There’s even a faint circular pattern. However, most of the outsole has lateral lines that work well for biting on straight movements, but not side-to-side ones. However, if you don’t play on courts that have clumps of dust, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue. The rubber is tacky.

Cushion

The cushion is the definition of basic. No Air or Zoom. It’s just plain Phylon all the way, although it does feel like Renew. At the start, it was a bit brick-like. However, with some break in time, it eventually felt similar but not quite like the foam in the Nike Air Max Impact 3. The break in time is about 3 hours for it to feel plush and comfortable. Walking around in them after playing isn’t too bad either. Compared to the Nike Giannis Immortality, these are definitely more comfortable. Because of its design, the heel compresses nicely. The biggest downside to this, though, is that it bottoms out rather quickly.

Materials

The base layer of textile mesh is really basic. It feels crispy at the beginning, but conforms to the foot well enough over time. I’m glad Nike decided to put leather from the heel to the midfoot section, though they don’t feel premium at all. There’s a thin fuse overlay on the toe to help protect the cheap material under it. The lowest quality synthetic nubuck is also found on the eyelets. Nothing great to talk about here, besides that they get the job done.

Fit

It’s a little tricky. When I first put them on, I felt that they were narrow and long like KD shoes. But because of the flimsier mesh, they did loosen up. However, I would still recommend half a size up for wide footers or just avoiding the shoe because of the possible compromise with length. Normal and narrow footers will be happy going true to size, though.

Support

Support is barely enough. There isn’t an outrigger, but the base has some width to make up for that. The traditional lacing system works to keep the foot from shifting and the leather overlays on both sides help a bit with that, too. There’s a heel counter and although there’s not really a shank, torsional support is alright. Nothing amazing here either.

Overall

I think the Nike Fly.By Mid 3 is an okay shoe for a cheap price. Against the Nike Giannis Immortality, these are slightly better, most notably in the cushion department. The rest is nearly identical. If you’re really on a strict budget and looking to spend less than $70 on a pair of basketball shoes, then this is a good option. However, there are a lot of sneakers out there under $100 that are much better. (Check out our list of the Best Budget Basketball Shoes here.)

How to Buy the Nike Fly.By Mid 3

The Nike Fly.By Mid 3 is available now for $65 at Nike.