Nike Basketball Tech Focuses On Basics: Cutting, Running And ...

The Nike GT Cut 3 brings Zoom X foam to Nike Basketball for the first time.

Ever since Nike NKE introduced air-supported cushioning to its basketball lineup in 1982, the Oregon-based brand has focused on offering a range of underfoot cushioning technologies to give basketball players options to suit their game.

Today is no different.

“We offer a wide range of options to serve the game globally,” Tim Day, Nike senior director of Global Basketball Footwear, tells me. “These options span across different foam compounds, Zoom Air and Max Air units. Depending on a hoopers’ style of play, their option might change from model to model.”

With the game’s transition to a more “positionless” style of play, Day says, Nike has broken down the game in its simplest form, highlighted by the “basic movement of the game, which are cutting, running and jumping.”

The Nike LeBron 21 features Zoom Air.

With Nike Basketball building out a portfolio of silhouettes, the goal remains to allow athletes to own their own space on the court, such as in creating or closing space on a defender. Then comes the basic movements of the game. Whether across Nike’s line of signature basketball sneakers or the leading non-signature lines of the GT GT Cut, GT Hustle and GT Jump—direct ties to the basic forms Day refers to—the combination of underfoot cushioning can focus on everything from bringing a player closer to the ground or providing additional support.

Nike’s Zoom Air, featuring a pocket of air that includes a series of highly tensioned polyester or nylon fibers that snap the air bag back into position after compression, can get used in varying thicknesses and locations—whether in conjunction with foam or on its own—to provide the desired effect.

For example, the new LeBron 21 for LeBron James features a Zoom unit in the forefoot, an additional 13-millimeter Zoom unit and a Cushlon foam carrier throughout. This combination offers an example of marrying technologies, with the Zoom units supporting propulsion and the foam designed to offer a pillowy feel.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has a signature Nike Basketball line.

Other combinations across Nike silhouettes include the KD16 for Kevin Durant featuring Nike Air and Zoom Air for a mix of lightweight stability. The Freak 5 for Giannis Antetokounmpo offers up a “springy midsole” foam to help with softness, while Sabrina Ionescu’s Sabrina 1 features a top-loaded forefoot Zoom Air unit paired with full-length React foam to balance stability, ground control and cushioning. The combination is designed for speed and endurance more than intense impact cushioning you might see from a shoe designed for someone jumping more frequently.

The unique approaches to cushioning come clear in the GT lines, with the GT Hustle 2 featuring full-length foam for cushioning at speed with a full-length Zoom Air unit for a propulsive feel, the GT Cut 2 employing React technology and Zoom Air units to support and comfort while offering a quick response and the GT Jump 2 implementing three areas of Zoom Air and React foam in the heel for more bounce off the floor. The newly announced GT Cut 3 employs ZoomX Foam for the first time in a basketball model.

A range of propulsion plates feature throughout the Nike lineup. “Propulsion plates are another lightweight underfoot option which reduce the overall weight of a shoe but still provides a strong, yet springy on court feel,” Day says. “We use plates in partnership with other underfoot technologies to create systems for the modern hooper.”

The Sabrina 1 from Nike puts a focus on quick on-the-court movements.

Also underfoot, Day says that the rubber compound, traction and tread pattern are key in basketball. “Depending on their style of play, this is a huge factor on how a shoe ultimately performs,” he says.

A sneaker’s upper plays a pivotal role too, both in performance and durability. Day says players are getting bigger, faster and stronger than they were even just a few years ago and Nike wants to ensure the materials can serve longevity needs without losing on-court wearability.

Nike has relied on a mix of technologies to make it happen, including seamless construction from Flyknit, additional textiles, leathers, fit bands, foams and Flywire support cables. “These elements make up a large percent of most models,” Day says about the upper designs. “They differ across aesthetics, functionality, support, breathability and overall weight.”