Are Basketball Shoes Worth It? 5 Key Advantages

Many new signature sneakers hit the basketball court each year. Basketball is the main reason for the sneakers culture. Signature basketball shoes are crafted around players’ footwork on the court. It supports a specific playoff style. 

But are basketball shoes worth the investment and hype? The casual sneakers won’t give you the cushion for your joints on a hard landing. Moreover, you can easily trip on pivoting moves without much grip on the floor. 

Are basketball shoes worth it? Yes. So let’s strike up a detailed conversation on it.

Are Basketball Shoes Worth It?

Basketball shoes are essential because they stabilize when you accelerate and rapidly change direction.Proper basketball shoes will cushion your joints from hard landings. Moreover, they provide grip on your torquing movements. 

Non-basketball shoes will roll the ankles by the end of a few games. It’s a game which requires lots of jumping and running.

Having said that, it’s essential to wear suitable pair of basketball shoes that matches your position and style.

How Important Are Basketball Shoes?

One day you get up and decide to play basketball. You go to the court and make all kinds of moves, dribble, and jumps. Continuous practice without a pair of good basketball shoes will result in certain long-term harmful effects on the body.

The main reason is most beginner athletes don’t care to wear basketball shoes, which results in imbalances in their positions. Ultimately they change their playoff style to cope with the imbalance.

But that isn’t right. Basketball is a game that demands performance and a lot of accelerating, torquing, and dunking. Therefore, you need a basketball shoe with sound engineering to absorb shock and protect the joint from excessive twisting.

It’s like you can’t run a car with flat tires. Just like that, a dead cushioned, slippery casual sneaker with zero balancing feature will negatively affect overall foot orthotics.

Also Check: Do Basketball shoes make you taller? (Expert Answers)

5 Key Benefit of Basketball Shoes

To get the better clarity of mind, we have sorted out 5 key features that you will get in a performance basketball sneaker.

1. Restricts the Foot Movements

The basketball shoe fits like a glove and supports the body’s locomotion system. In casual sneakers, your feet fatigue out from excessive movements. 

Which ultimately affects the joints in the heel. That can lead to hip pain and other issues if you don’t pay proper attention to the issue.

2. Improves performance by supporting Accelating and rapid turns and stops

Basketball is a game where you need to move at a moment’s notice, then suddenly stop and make excessive torquing moves.

The outsole of basketball shoes is specially engineered to help you safely shift your directions. 

It ensures you do not slip or trip on a quick stop. The outsole material and traction pattern give you confidence for your bold moves on the basketball court. 

It saves the athletes from injuries that can make them unfit for the whole season.

3. Impact Absorption with Cushion

Appropriate cushioning is the most important feature that you will get in a basketball shoe. You dont know how many times you jump on the both ends of a basketball court. 

A basketball shoe has sufficient padding to ensure the safe landings. It absorbs impact and prevents the joints from crushing. 

Thus ability to absorb impact is most crucial factor that no player should overlook. Only a basketball shoe can save your feet from any potential injury.

4. Stability and Support

Many factors contribute to the stability of a shoe. Basketball shoes are carefully designed to meet players’ needs on the court because nothing is more dangerous than an unstable shoe. 

More often than not, It can cost you a winning game. Basketball shoes give ankle support with special padding in the ankle area. Additionally, an internal or external TPU heel counter cages the heel area and protects the Achilles from excessive stretching.

A hard shank plate in the midfoot prevents the feet from unnecessary bending and twitching on your pivoting moves. 

A basketball shoe has a wide base with overlays on such points, adding overall stability and lateral containment.

These features can only be found in casual sneakers.

5. Springiness

Lastly, basketball sneakers have the right amount of cushioning in the forefoot areas, midfoot, and heels. That gives just the right amount of springiness to support the high jumps. These are responsive. The right basketball shoe can certainly add a few inches to your jump height.

Additionally, many signature sneakers have cushioning according to the player’s style. Many basketball shoes have more cushioning under the forefoot area, while others are more responsive on the heel.

So you can choose the one that goes well with your playoff style.

2 Downside of Basketball  Shoes

Like every useful commodity, basketball shoes have their downsides. Let me tell you something immediately; you cannot use them casually. 

It will affect their ability to grip the floor because traction may pick up dust and gets slippery. 

I suggest that the basketball sneaker be only dedicated to basketball court use.

i- Expensive

Performance basketball sneakers are very expensive. A signature basketball sneaker comes in the 150-250 $ price range.

It is hard to find a signature shoe on a budget. Nike and Adidas have launched many budget-performance basketball shoes with excellent features, such as Nike pg6 and Adidas Harden Vol.6.

So what’s so special about these basketball shoes that make them expensive? All the leading brands that manufacture basketball shoes are backed by immense research to include advanced support features.

So being heavy on a budget is a downside, but all the cost is invested in driving up the value of basketball shoes.

ii- Short lifespans

Most basketball sneakers last only one or two seasons and then are torn apart, which is certainly a downside for a pricey shoe. 

They wear out from the hard jumps and toe drags that are a part of a basketball game. Alternatively, the outsole gets slippery. Recent basketball sneakers are made with a huge focus on making kolightweight shoes. 

Thus its durability decreases when they incorporate thin upper and lightweight material to manufacture the basketball shoe.

If you want your basketball shoes last longer, you must avoid wearing them on an outdoor court. The hard concrete and asphalt surface tears the shoe very soon.

Conclusion

Are basketball shoes worth it?yes. Basketball shoes can provide valuable benefits for players. They act as shock absorbers, while a player has confidence and peace of mind that is safe on his hard lateral cuts. 

But it’s important to consider the cost and potential drawbacks before purchasing. It would help you select the suitable pair of basketball shoes that serve your needs in the best possible way.