#5 – Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant is probably the player on this list with the widest range of skills and that is likely why he lands at number five, with 4.8% and 3.1% of total and first place votes, respectively.
Kevin’s game has always been steady, as Durant can consistently shoot, pass, rebound, and most everything else. This consistency has made Durant one of the best in the league, but is also not as Internet-friendly in this current Vine/Gif highlight era.
Durant’s footwear contrasts his game, however, with aspects like collar height and usage of straps skipping models down the line.
In terms of seniority and prestige/price point, Kevin has been number three to Kobe and LeBron in Nike’s signature hierarchy and this ranking is no different. This means Durant’s shoes were more accessible early on but also lacked the latest technological advances from the Swoosh. The last two models have changed that, with materials like Hyperposite and Flyweave gracing the KD 7 and 8, which happened to be Durant’s shoes with the most first place votes.
With Kobe’s impending retirement and more technological advances on the way for the KD 9, it’ll be interesting to see if Durant’s rank amongst the best performance shoes rises.
LOVE THIS!
Great report! This really should help anyone looking for ideas of what to buy. Thanks for the great surveys!
I think each performance review on the site will determine which shoe you should buy.
This survey was more for what the general hooper likens as the best hoop shoe.
Thanks for reading though. Glad you enjoyed it.
Very well written piece!!!
Good stuff. Perhaps I may have missed this, but was there a size and position played question asked on this survey? While I am not six eight, but six four and I do weigh twofiddy and am a power player, so there is nothing that I do with a Kobe Bryant type shoe but look at it from afar. This isn’t about Kobe bias, because I do not like him, but his shoe are too flimsy to be considered the best performance option for players like me if I were to use this article as a gauge.
This is more of a general survey asking what the best overall shoes are to the general populous.
This isn’t a recommendation of what to pick up. Your own style and build will determine that. Obviously there are more guards out there than big men, so it’s skewed towards guard shoes a bit.
Hope that makes sense. Thanks for reading.
the kobe line, if only for the 6, the 8 and the 9, has to be at the very top (i’m also somebody who likes the 10 a lot, even if it isn’t a top of the line shoe it is a very dependable and supportive option)….the rose line, though, has to be right up there alongside the kobe series, i’m not a big rose fan but every shoe other than the 3 (which isn’t bad, it just isn’t special in any real way) has been inventive and performance-driven, the 4 was just a sleek, flexible, explosive beast of a shoe, i played in that until the upper and the sprintframe separated (inevitable after putting it through runs in the rain, extreme weather, etc.), while the 5 had unbelievable lockdown and support, probably the best containment i’ve ever experienced…of course, you had to get the chicago ice or the woven brenda colorway to get top class flexibility, too
Disagree on the Kyrie assessment. Companies have consistently shown they can churn out shoes with good performance at a low cost. Kyrie’s shoe is one of many shoes that are victims of Nike somehow deciding zoom should not be felt. Other than that, great list and appreciate the work done.
Yo! This was a really good read. Thanks for putting this together. I’ve played in models from almost everyone on the list except for maybe Kyrie. Definitely a well thought out article. Respect.
Really nice article, very insightful and definitely one of the best because of the level of analysis involved. Hoping for a wider and deeper study in the future!