How to choose a basketball shoes?

Basketball shoes is not a sign of fashion, but it is a weapon of a player on court. So when choosing basketball shoes, Brand popularity and appearance should not be you main criteria. You should choose the most suitable shoes for you. But keep in mind that it wont elevate your performance in basketball. Following is suggested way of choosing your sneakers.

How Do You Play the Games?

Before anything, first you need to know the style of your play e.g center or guard. Because the needs of different types of players are different also. There are basically 3 types of player.

                                                    Speed Demon

 

Low Top

If you rely heavily on your speed and running, you need excellent ankle flexibility, thus a low top will serve you the best. Next and the most important, to you traction or grip is crucial for you to make sharp drive, cross over, sudden brake and pick yourself up. Therefore you need badly for out sole with good traction, and herring bone pattern out sole is always my suggestion. If you are a Nike fans for impact absorption, Nike Zoom Air will be the best option to you because it is the thinnest Air which is very responsive and so enhance your agile plays.

Herring Bone Pattern

                                                   
                                                    Power Player

High Top

If you are a power player,  you will need heavy protection because you will do a lot of jump and land, and because usually this type of players have a heavier weight so cushioning is very crucial to you. Shoes with good cushioning (impact absorption) is important for you, therefore nike shoes with Nike Shox or Nike Air or Zig Tech of Reebok will serve you the best since they are especially good at absorbing the impact caused by a heel strike (when you land). Ankle support is also very important to you since you perform a lots of powerful moves and rebounding because you have a better chance for ankle rollover, therefore high top shoes is good for you

                                                    All-around player

Mid Top

If you are a swing man who plays front court and back court, you go for fast break, 3 pointer, post play, rebounding, dribbling etc then i will suggest you a pair of shoes with all the above features. Mid top shoes will do for you, it gives you ample ankle support as well as the flexibility to your ankle movement. Besides, you also need shoes with impact good absorption like Air and Zoom Air to minimize the impact of heel strike. Out sole with good traction is also important for you to perform your speed for fast break and catch and shoot. For traction, out sole with herring bone pattern is the best option.

Which is the Most Comfortable to You?

After knowing the types of shoes that suits you, the next step is to choose a pair which is the most comfortable to your foot among all the brands. There are several popular yet competent producer of Basketball shoes they are Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Converse and And1. However the first 3 brands are recommended. I and personally think that Nike has the best functions and most of the Adidas shoes are usually more durable.

However when choosing, you should totally forget about the appearance of the shoes. Basically all these basketball shoes giants are doing a good job. Therefore, all you need to consider is whether you are comfortable in a shoes. So when you are in a store don't be shy, put on both shoes and try to run, leap and jump in the store. Even though, it looks weird in public but it is worth consider the price of the shoes usually cost few hundred ringgits. And also don't forget to wear your socking when you visit a store trying on shoes without socking is foolish. If you visit big outlet like Al Ikhsan or Royal Sport House, you will find that the sales assistant will allow you to do so. And other smaller shops owners are usually so nice to you.

The Right Size

This is the tool to measure your leg. Ask for it.

After you have make up your mind about which model of which brand you wannna purchase. Now you need to know the actual size of your foot. The right size is a must for basketball shoes, if the shoes are too small to your foot it will cause injury and corn to your foot and shoes that is larger than your foot will be a burden when you play. It is always advisable to ask the store to measure for you because the size will change sometime even after puberty. Stores like Royal Sport House and Al Ikhsan actually have professional tool to measure your foot size, but just the case that you need to request yourself because the salespersons in these stores are usually passive. In fact if a shoe fit your feet, you will still find some space between your longest toe and the front of the shoe. And you can test it by pressing the space with finger.

Find the Price

Now, you come the stage of bargain hunting.As i said basketball shoes are not cheap and usually cost around RM 250 for a decent one so it wont be wasting time for you to visit you a few store for the price of shoes that you want and you will see the difference.

And i personally don't advise to buy signature shoes of the Stars like Zoom Kobe and Zoom Lebron, because they charge you more than what the shoes have just because it is a signature shoes of Lebron. I know you understand me. When these shoes are in a sales promotion or discount, there is a good chance that the sneakers may be kept for years and in this case the out sole will easily detach from the body, you can often see this happen in Nike shoes. However, i always crave for those shoes because I m a big fans of NBA. Lastly, to maintain your shoes please play more often and you will find your shoes more durable, Believe or not?  It is a magic.