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Basketball is a very fast-paced sport where you’re constantly running up and down the court and you always need to be able to stop on a dime. 

That kind of explosiveness and athleticism requires a special kind of shoe.

The thing that separates basketball shoes from any other shoe is that anyone can wear them. On any given day if you were to go out in public you would see someone rocking a pair of basketball shoes. 

Basketball shoes from the 80’s and 90’s have really influenced the type of shoes and fashion that we wear today. The Jordan brand has had the longest lasting effect on the fashion world, with some of its original style shoes, such as the Jordan 1 and 11, selling out within hours of their release in stores. 

Big companies like Nike and Adidas make most of their sales through advertising. They get high profile athletes to wear their stuff, and in return the companies bring in major profit , but it comes at a high price. Lebron James signed with Nike in 2003, and since then he has earned roughly $440 million from his collective Nike deals, on top of the $272 million he has made in salaries from playing basketball. 

As the prices of the shoes increase, so does the quality, ranging from the classic Chuck Taylor’s of the 1960s and 70s, which had little cushion for comfort, to the countless number of Nike and Adidas models that incorporate modern shoe technology to provide the max amount of comfort needed to succeed.

Finding the right shoe is very important to a basketball player, and there are a lot of factors that come into play when choosing a basketball shoe. In recent years we have seen a lot more low-top basketball shoes being worn, which differs from the conventional high-top. The high-top was invented for players because with the high ankle support it was very hard to roll or twist your ankle.   

At Bellwood-Antis, the basketball players are given the opportunity to either purchase their own shoes or get team shoes, which are chosen each year by the seniors on the team. 

This year the Blue Devils basketball team got the Nike Zoom Freak 1’s, which were designed by last year’s NBA MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The shoe is a low top and light, even with the two layers of zoom cushion on the rear sole for more comfort. The shoe was picked because it has at least one aspect that every player on the team prefers. When it comes to basketball shoes, senior Troy Walker likes them low and light.

“I don’t have ankle problems, and I like the mobility they provide,” said Troy. 

The girls basketball team does things a little differently; instead of having a set team shoe they decide a team shoe color, and then let the players decide what shoes to get based on their own personal preferences.  Senior Macy Decker prefers a lightweight mid-top shoe because she wears ankle braces, and it’s difficult to wear the high tops over the brace. The Lady Devils are pretty much split on who wears low and high tops on the court, and it’s all based off of personal preferences or whether or not the player needs to wear an ankle brace which could make it difficult or uncomfortable to wear different styles of shoes. 

There are many obstacles that a player must go through in order to perform at his or her best on the court, and one of those obstacles is finding the right shoe to compliment their style of play. 

As the basketball season comes to a close, we look forward to both the boys and girls teams to make strong names for themselves as they prepare for the playoffs. 

The BluePrint would like to wish both teams luck on the rest of their season, and we would like to thank all of the seniors for their hard work and dedication, and for showing us what it truly means to be a Blue Devil.