As a basketballer, you know that choosing the right shoes is essential. Wearing the wrong type or ill-fitting basketball shoes can affect your performance, speed, and agility, and can even cause injury.
So how do you make sure that you pick the right ones to suit you? Here are our top tips to show you how to choose the right sneaker..
How to choose basketball shoes
There are a lot of different factors that go into picking the perfect basketball shoe. So, what do you need to consider before you start shopping? When it comes to basketball shoes, you need to keep a couple of different things in mind:
The Style of Basketball Shoe Matters
You might have heard your teammates discussing the benefits of high-top shoes versus low-tops and wondered what they were talking about. Referring to the height of the basketball shoe around the ankle, basketball shoes are available in high, mid or low heights and each of these styles offer different benefits to the player.
- High-tops: The upper of the shoe wraps high around your ankle, providing an extra layer of support and stability, but this extra coverage often makes the shoe a little heavier.
- Mid-tops: These provide a happy medium for players in terms of ankle support, allowing for increased flexibility.
- Low-tops: This style of shoe is built for speed and agility, but they offer minimal ankle support due to their lower profile.
Your choice of shoe height will depend on your personal preferences, as well as what type of basketball player you are.
What Position Do You Play?
Different positions often wear specific shoes to match the types of moves you make. If you mainly play a certain position, it’s a good idea to try and pick basketball shoes that match that position. Here’s a breakdown of the style of basketball shoes worn by position.
- Guards: This position requires quick movements on the court, so Low-top basketball shoes are great as they can help with fluid movement. These shoes offer little ankle support, so this is something to keep in mind if your ankles are on the weaker side.
- Forwards: High-top basketball shoes offer additional coverage and support and come with extra weight, making high-top shoes a popular choice for larger, more aggressive forwards.
- All-round players: If you’re an all-round basketball player, you’ll need to find a basketball shoe that can offer a bit of everything to suit your playing style. Mid-top basketball shoes provide ankle support, while also offering more flexibility in this shoe, making them a great choice for multi-position basketball players.
How To Choose Basketball Shoes Size
Having the correct size is very important when it comes to getting the right basketball shoe fit, you want to make sure that your foot has enough room at the front, is firm on your foot but not too tight.
You can test this yourself when you are trying shoes on, start by measuring your feet, making sure that you have a thumbnail length between your longest toe and the end of the shoe. If your shoes feel a little larger than your normal shoes when you follow the “thumbnail test”, it is important to keep in mind that when we exercise our feet can swell and expand. It can sometimes take a few wears to break in the shoe, but if you are finding that your shoes are causing blisters or callouses, your shoes may be too small.
Shoe Aesthetics
So you know what type of shoes you should pick to suit your position, and you know your perfect basketball shoe size, but have you considered what aesthetic statement you want your shoes to make?
Basketball shoes are a great way to make a style statement out on the court; choose a design that shows off your personality and taste with bold colours and design elements. You can even match your shoes to your team colours!
In Australia, basketball shoes are as at home in the streets as they are on the court, so when it comes to picking the right shoes for basketball, you need to make sure they are the best pair for you!
Keeping the above in mind when shopping for basketball shoes can help you play hard and stand out. For a huge range of basketball shoes and other baller gear, look no further than And1.
We live and breathe basketball, so are proud to offer Australia’s best selection of basketball shoes, apparel and accessories. Start shopping to buy basketball shoes right here.
