Best Basketball Shoes For WOMEN: My Top Picks

This is definitely something pretty unusual for me. We will be taking a look at the best basketball shoes for women! But first, let me tell you something.

The selection of women’s basketball shoes next to men’s shoes is like a flie next to an elephant. It’s VERY small. Most of the shoes are either made by weird brands or they’re just simply not worth the money. It’s really tough to find a trustworthy, good brand shoe for women. Don’t get soaked in the stuff some sites write that there are lots of awesome women’s shoes out there. There isn’t.

But today I decided to help you all out and carefully pick the best options for a woman right now.

So, let’s get started!

MAIN ASPECTS FOR A GOOD WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SHOE

  • Excellent support with proper ankle lock-in

  • Soft cushioning with proper impact protection

  • Lightweight construction

  • Versatile traction


#1 RECOMMENDATION: NIKE HYPERDUNK 2014

If you’ve searched for a women’s basketball sneaker, this probably came up very often. That’s because the Hyperdunk 2014 is pretty much as good as it can get for a women’s BBALL shoe.

The Hyperdunk series is known for solid performance (well, except the 2015 model) and the 2014 sneaker is considered the best, even for men.

The shoe has a HyperFuse upper. That’s a very durable and sturdy material that will provide good support and the snug fit will lock your ankle well. Dynamic FLYWIRE will add to the support and lockdown.

It has Lunarlon cushioning in the heel and forefoot, which gives a responsive, soft and comfortable experience. It’s not extremely soft, but it’s pretty damn responsive. Lastly, the shoe has a classic herringbone traction pattten which isn’t top notch, but does the job well. Wouldn’t recommend this outdoors though.

These are one of the only women’s shoes that have a good reputation and a known name. Yep, that’s the reality.

#2 RECOMMENDATION: UNDER ARMOUR MICRO G TORCH

Another reasonably well-known shoe. The UA Micro G Torch is a great option for maximum cushioning and comfort. The reason why this is not my #1 recommendation is because support is not as great as the Hyperdunk. And support is vital, especially for women.

So the shoe has full-length MicroG cushioning which is as soft as it can get. This is excatly what you need: softness, plushness and pure comfort. Impact protection will also be awesome, since the foam is soft and absorbs shock well. Traction is also great and perfectly fine to play outdoors.

The upper is made out of synthetic leather. So expect good ventilation, durability and just decent support. If you really want to max out the support when getting a shoe, then this won’t be an option for you. Otherwise, this is worth picking up just for that sweet cushioning.

NIKE HYPERDUNK 2015

So if you remember, I did say that the 2014 Hyperdunk model was better than last year’s. While this is true, the Hyperdunk 2015 is still a solid shoe with a couple of flaws. When the selection is so small, it’s hard to find a better alternative.

The Nike Hyperdunk 2015 has two ZOOM AIR units for cushioning. That’s the main flaw of the shoe – the unit in the heel is pretty unresponsive. It’s supposed to act as impact protection, but there isn’t much to start with. The forefoot unit is better, it’s a lot more responsive and you can feel it more.

Traction is solid, even for outdoors. Upper is made of HyperFuse, so it’s very durable and supportive. Don’t forget that super high ankle collar which will lock in your ankle well. Lastly, another small flaw is the lack of proper comfort. The thing is, HyperFuse needs to be broken in, so the first week of play could be annoying.

NIKE PRIME HYPE DF II

One of the more trusted models in this list. The Nikey Prime Hype DF II has very positive feedback among people, I didn’t spot a single negative review, so that’s a good sign.

The shoe has Phylon cushioning, which is nothing special and definitely not springy, but it’s responsive and you’ll get good court feel.

The upper is pure synthetics, so that’s not too awesome. Not the most durable setup, but at least it’s light and breathable. The fit itself has some support, along with that high ankle collar. Nikey calls this material Breathe Tech, but it’s just fancy words. It’s good, but not great.

Traction is what’s great. The pattern is made to hold off multi-directional movements, so it got you covered.

NIKE AIR VISI PRO V

A pretty old, but solid model. The Nike Air Visi Pro V is a name you’ve probably never heard before. That’s because the shoe is an “underdog”. It’s not popular.

Popular or not, it still delivers decent performance. For cushioning, there’s a Nike Air unit in the heel. It’s definitely an old piece of tech, but it still somewhat works. It’s nowhere near as great as ZOOM AIR or Lunarlon though.

You got solid herringbone traction, Phylon foam midsole for comfort and a synthetic leather upper. The upper will be durable and fairly light. It won’t deliver massive support though.

The flaw with the shoe is you’ll need a lot of time to break them in. A lot of people are saying that it takes them days to break in that leather. But once it is done, the will feel alright.


BEST BASKETBALL SHOES FOR WOMEN: CONCLUSION

So now you see that there isn’t much of a selection of the best basketball shoes for women. If you take a look in the stores, there are lots of shoes out there, but most of them are pretty bad.

I will say this. If you’re looking for something not in this list, only look for Nike’s, Under Armour’s or adidas’s models. Shoes below ~80 dollars are not really worth your money. They don’t have any premium tech and are mostly all old.