Way of Wade 12 Performance Review

While there were aspects of the Way of Wade 10 and Way of Wade 11 that I absolutely liked, I didn’t love the shoes on the court long term. However, the Way of Wade 12 seems to take the best elements from each of those two models and combine them into one perfect shoe. This guy right here might just be the best basketball shoe of 2025.

I was genuinely surprised by the Way of Wade 12. When I first took them out of the box—which, by the way, is a clean, simple pull-out drawer design—my initial thought was, “Holy shit, these are really light. At just 381 grams (13.4 ounces) , they are quite light for a basketball product.

I wasn’t initially impressed because the materials are all synthetics, and the “carbon plate” at the back felt soft and gummy. Despite my doubts, I laced the Way of Wade 12 up and was instantly blown away. They are very smooth and responsive like the Way of Wade 11, yet light and form-fitting like the Way of Wade 10—a perfect blend.

Traction

The outsole is very interesting, although the technology isn’t new for the Wade Brand. It features a dual-rubber system (or at least it feels like it). The forefoot has a separate piece with simple, effective herringbone traction, angled for multi-directional coverage (linear at the toe, lateral at the ball of the foot). The white section in the back uses GCU rubber, which is actually polyurethane. Polyurethane is a fascinating material that can be used in various forms, including traction.

The traction on the Way of Wade 12 is fantastic. You might need to wipe occasionally, but I have no real complaints. I’m unsure about outdoor durability because they feel a little soft in hand, but indoors, where I played in them, they are beastly.

Cushion

The midsole features Super Boom, which is a supercritical version of ETPU foam that feels awesome. It provides a bouncy, yet fluid feeling—just bouncy enough to give you a “pep in your step” without being overly bouncy. The midsole is sculpted and rounded in the heel to promote forward momentum, which eliminates the clunky, pain-inducing heel strike I experienced with the thick carbon plate in the WoW 10. The Way of Wade 12 feels more like the super comfortable WoW 11, but without the awkward bulk.

The Super Boom cushion provides plenty of impact protection and responsiveness while keeping you low profile in terms of court feel. It has a little bit of everything, making it suitable for all positions and all-size players—which is high praise. Most of the lateral cushion is caged by the outsole rubber and the side support panel, which is part of the Wade logo design, allowing for flex and movement. The shoe is just a stupid comfortable sneaker.

The stock insole is decent, but can be swapped out. The shoe also features a very strong Infinity-style carbon plate sandwiched within the foam, which is smart, functional, and often seen in running sneakers.

Materials

The materials are all synthetic everything, giving off a strong “band-aid” or plasticky smell. While I don’t love synthetic materials, they do exactly what they are supposed to do: contain you, maintain their lightweight nature, and allow for complex color treatments. This particular colorway features an abalone/swirly pearl-like look. The upper has held up well to damage. While I would prefer premium materials for the price, the performance justifies it.

Support

The support is fantastic for such a light-feeling shoe. The sandwiched carbon plate offers torsion support and a slight spring blade effect that feels great. The base is wide and stable, making you feel nimble like a Kyrie on the inside of your foot, but stable on the outside. Extra support plates and the side logo cage the foot perfectly. The faux carbon pieces at the back are a little weird, as they feel soft and gummy, but they don’t get in the way. The heel counter could be a bit stronger, but the secure fit helps compensate for this. The toe is semi-independent (stitched at two points), which allows for nice flexibility.

Fit

The fit is a true-to-size one-to-one fit, which I highly recommend for most. I only had a small issue with my left shoe initially, which was fixed by simply unlacing and relacing it while my foot was in there. It feels like a glove-like fit without a glove. I had the adidas D.O.N. Issue 7 as my frontrunner for “basketball shoe of the year,” but the Way of Wade 12 is so good, it just kicked the D.O.N. Issue 7 down to number two.

Watch out if you have a high instep or high arch because of the tongue setup. It’s gusseted in a very strange way with an inner sleeve, and it doesn’t offer much vertical flex, which could create uncomfortable pressure if your foot is pushed up by an orthotic or high arch.

Way of Wade 12 Summary

The Way of Wade 12 is an unexpected beast of a basketball shoe and, in my opinion, a top contender for the best shoe of 2025. It successfully blends the best aspects of the Way of Wade 10 and 11, offering a lightweight, form-fitting upper with an incredibly smooth and responsive Super Boom cushioning system. The traction is fantastic and the support is nimble yet stable, making it ideal for virtually all players. Despite the synthetic materials, the on-court performance and 1:1 fit are superb. The Way of Wade 12 is a huge step up from previous models and a shoe I am highly satisfied with.

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Disclosure

While the Wade Brand did provide a pair of the Way of Wade 12 to facilitate this review, the company had no involvement in this review, didn’t receive an advance look at it, and has not attempted to influence it.