The Top Ten list featured here on Kicks On Court is put together based on shoes overall performance score, the overall grade the shoe had received after everything was tallied up.
This video features my personal top performance models for 2012 for each position. It has nothing to do with the list; it’s just my personal picks. Also featured is the year’s worst performing shoes, honorable mention & the most innovative.
Thank you for all of your continued support and I can’t wait until next year!
Thank you very much. This is awesome. I like how you broke it down into positions to be fair with every type of shoes.
Take care of yourself. You’ve been the most industrious reviewer on the internet for several years. Take some time off and rest.
And once again, thank you.
Incredible video. Probably my favorite of the year as it kind of summed up everything. You saved me time and money, and on top of that your content gives me practical knowledge (to use in the future) and pleasure.
Your audience is only going to grow from here on out as you have the best combination of knowledge, articulation, history, video, and writing.
Thanks again for all the hard work!
Keep up your great work nightwing, you’re an inspiration to us on court and off the court, including the social media world. Nike needs to recognize and send you some invitations to their events! Happy Holidays and take care.
You help me alot to choose the right sneaker to buy. And I choose the KD V i can play the 1-3 spot. Thats why I get that sick sneaker.
dude your the shit!!!
Awesome man, thanks so much for all the work.
Great recap of 2012 in basketball sneakers. If I have any more friends ask me what bball shoes they should buy I’m making them watch this video.
Keep up the great work! Looking forward to your next reviews!
dope – same feels on the op3po – keep it ILL.
Hey nw get well soon! thanks for the awesome year!
Great work. I needed bball shoes for the first time this year and could not have made a better decision without your help. Awesome pro reviews for bball players and hope you get back out there for next year.
Can’t wait to see your review on Kobe 8!
thank you. I’m glad that I’m not the only one who disliked the Kobe VII’s very much.
thanks you on the vid.
you doing great job.
i have a question you said the best guard shoe is the cp3.vi(6)
so i should buy that shoe?
Those were his personal top guard shoe. You should probably look over the performance review b/c they had a few issues he talks about (poor cushion on heel strikes, heel slippage). If those aren’t a big concern and your top priority is traction, then the cp3.vi might be a good pick for you.
I bet everybody will ask where the Kobe VIII is because they were too dumb to watch/pay attention to the video.
Great review!!
I’m having a tough time deciding between the KD Vs and Melo M8 advance, cushions important to me, but so is a good fit. I usually play anywhere from a 2-4, would u recommend the kd v or m8
I thought you would put the Rose 3 in number 1 position for guards. Just because everyone loves drose. :)))
Great job nightwing2303! I’m a big fan. I watch all of your videos or atleast try to watch all of em! This was a really great summary. You helped me a lot in choosing which kicks would be best for me by letting me know which shoes offer the things that i need. I’m a fast paced guard & of all the guard shoes that you did a review on, i thought the cp3.VI would be best for me based on your review & i was right. They’re an awesome pair of sneakers especially for a guard like me and this video proved that i was right in my choice but mostly i made the right choice coz it offered all the stuff that i needed in a performance basketball shoe thanks to you! Keep up the good work man! I really appreciate it!
Thank you!
Great work nightwing2303. I stop by your site everyday and it never ceases to amaze me the work you put into it. I can’t wait for next year and what you have in store for us. Keep up the great work, and definitely get some rest.
Take care,
Sean
Take a good rest and get well soon bro, we can wait. Thanks for your tremendous effort!
Nice. Some totally unexpected stuff too, esp. the CP3 easily beating the Rose 3 for best guard shoe. That traction does look insane though. I have been looking to buy the Melo M8 ever since the initial performance review, but ended up getting other shoes, +money constraints…but as the M8s aren’t available in shops where I live, I’d like to get a few tips before deciding which colorway & size to go for. I prefer the deep blue & black CW, but it is the only one that has nubuck instead of the patent leather just above the upper. It seems that the nubuck/patent leather are just overlays on top of the fuse, so I’m wondering, do you think having the nubuck will have a significant effect on the support that the shoe provides? And the other question – how big are these, length-wise, compared to, say, the Fly Wade 2? NW I think you mentioned in the review that they do run a bit big, hence the question. NW all the best to you and your family for the holidays, and hope you are back in the new year healthy, injury-free & amped up to try out some new 2013 kicks! Thanks for all your work & insight so far, you honestly have by far the best & most unbiased shoe reviews on the web.
HEY DUDE WHY DID U MENTION THE HOWARD 2 AS 2ND BEST CENTER SHOE…. BUT NOT THE HOWARD 3? YOU NEED TO STOP BEING A LAZY ASS SHIT MAN… AND GET THE NEWER MODELS…. U DO THIS FOR A LIVING? A 6 YEAR OLD WOULD HAVE AS MUCH KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SHOES AS U… HOPE U DIE IN A TRAINWRECK
GO TO HELLLLL
hey nightwing… great video! But I do have a question…. How come the howard 3’s werent in ur center picks? whats different about the howard 3 and the 2’s???
You do realize that I have your IP address after each comment you leave right? So the HOWARD3MAN comments… I know they are from you. Thanks for wishing for my death… Im sure my wife and daughter will appreciate it.
yeah, what a complete dick. sorry for the profanity nightwing. just can’t stand psychos coming here.
Its alright, happens from time to time.
hey nightwing… first… i didnt know u could track ip adress…. but im not kiding when i say this… the first comment, whatever it was, was made by my friends… i really didnt wish u to die… srry man…
but i am still curious… y wasnt the howard 3’s in ur list? Because im thinking about buying them
just got the KD V’s yesterday from the store. man these are some sick hops. the cushion despite not being the best compared to the Lebron X, is ok/good and more than enough to absorb impacts and way better than the any lightweight shoes that I have tried. what really got me to get these is the forefront zoom bags which imo are extremely responsive and comfortable. also the pliability is really a major point and the way the front is constructed and shaped, and you roll all that into one feels like having a forward ejection system. plus putting the traction quality in there and you would trip on your own(not kidding). now, my only minor issue is that the shoe could had been the best overall shoe this year if they only made the heel part more comfortable possibly by refining the air unit or used podulon or something they used on the hyperfuse 2012 heel. on the otherhand, I could always replace the insole with a comfortable one, so not really a dealbreaker, thus still making it one of the best shoes for 2012, if not the best shoe of 2012.
one important note for some people who might be considering the KD V’s. I suggest you try sizing them up first. my fits true to size. also, watch your own ankles.
Great review Nightwing. You continue to bring great insight and provide a valuable service to the hoops world. I hope your hand heals up well and you can get back to playing on the regular. I hate having to take time off from playing due to injuries.
I’m really on the fence between the KD Vs and Lebron Elite IXs now that the Lebrons are hitting major discounts at the outlets. From your experience do you like the slightly smaller in footpring 10mm zoom with phylon from the KD V or the larger 8mm zoom bag with cushlon from the Lebron?
Whcih model takes the top spot, Fly wade 2 or cp vi?
@Jc: thats not a bad question. FW2 vs. CP3.VI ; both foam based, lunarlon vs. podulon, both have great traction; I’ve been playing in the FW2 for about 7 months now and on a clear floor the traction is perfect, I really can’t see where it could be improved. Ventilation is really good. So i guess the most important bits to compare would be cushioning, lockdown, forefoot flexibility (both feature multiple flex grooves), and low to the ground feel.
Take it away NW 🙂
hi nightwing, nice info again
i have some question, i hope you can reply me 😛
thanks.
i’m 32 years old
i’m 6’1″ 200 lbs. (i know I’m overweight also i have a big frame)
playing 3 – small forward (sometimes 2 or 4 as well)
i’m an outside shooter
my playing style is kind of VC but the now slow VC not those high flyer VC
o basically i try to get open for a three outside but sometimes i do crossover and drive inside and despite my big frame
i’m finesse type of player that don’t use my strenght much. I will try to do reverse lay up than to do post up moves.
so basically my game is outside and slashing, without too much of post game.
but i post up a lot when i defend, rebounding and all.
my jump is average if not below average as 6’0″ i can only touch the rims but i can’t dunk
anyway i’ve a quetion, cushion wise
which one is better , the
LEBRON X
or
MELO M8 advance ?
cause on both review you kind of said that they are both awesome on the cushion department.
i own lebron X
but if the melo m8 advance is a better cushioned or a better shoe overall, then i might buy it too.
thanks once again.
what i need in a shoe is a good lateral support and good cushioning.
If lateral support along w good cushion is needed then the melo gets that done over the lebron x. Cushions are different and not quite comparable, lebron x cushion is springy whereas the melo is pillow like.
thx for the reply i guess now i have to buy the M8 advance 🙂
just curious
“springy” as in zoom air “springy” ?
and “pillow like” as in max air “pillow like ” ?
i always preffer zoom compared to max thats why i bought the lebron X in the first place.
i guess i have to try the M8 advance first but that’s gonna be tough they are not for sale in my country
maybe even wait for the M9 ?
as from what i see their cushioning set up is almost the same ?
thx again btw.
Hey Nightwing I am 13 years old 6 foot 1 inch 138 pounds (most of it muscle) I play all the front court positions at times. I almost never use my strength against other players like backing down, most of the time I face up from the perimeter and mid-range. What shoe do you think will be be better for me the Drose 3 or the Lebron X
Hey Nightwing,
just a piece a advice from a french fan of yours : don’t lose ur time arguing with haters, don’t even think of them.
U r doing a great job here, i mean really great. Just check ur website audience to convince u. Haters hate, that’s the way it is.
Your reviews personnaly made me choose fly wade 2 and if start was disapointing coz of fit issues, after breaking time i just thought “he’s perfectly clever when judging shoes, they r damn good”
(having the same setup preferences on sneakers also help ;))
Good wishes for your swift recovery with ur hand.
I appreciate it!
hey NW, good job!
at the end of the year you should take a top shot picture of you lying on all the sneakers you had reviewed! that should be awesome!
The Howard 3 comment sucks. That guy can rot in hell. Bitch. YOU ROCK Nightwing!
#YOLO
Hey I am very happy I found your site. I love how you say you could not get air Jordan’s as a kid and looked for other options. May I ask how many pairs you have? What do you even do with all those kicks and how can you store them all?
Hey nightwing. Thanks for this. Been struggling to find the right shoe for ballin and your reviews are a huge help. Actually picked up the m8 advance coz of your top 4 for forwards list. Thanks again and keep it up, man.