History has been made yet again. We witnessed how surprising the NBA 2021 playoff season was. This season, many of the younger players and underdog teams took us by surprise with their outstanding performance.
From Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Devin Booker (Suns), Trae Young (Hawks), and Luka Doncic (Mavericks), this playoff season wasn’t short of remarkable athleticism and it’s a huge reminder that every team has the same opportunity to win the championship regardless of their franchise history.
But what is the secret to their greatness on the court? Apart from their exceptional talent, hard work, and impressive stats, it is no doubt that the shoes they wear also play a vital role in their performance. So, which brand of basketball shoes brought the best performance? Which were the top-scoring basketball shoes this season?
iPrice Group has analysed the top 50 players with the highest total points from the NBA’s stats page (as of the Game 1 Finals) and identified the shoes they were wearing from Baller Shoes DB to rank the top-scoring basketball shoes.
Nike, Adidas, and Jordan Scored the Most Points
Research revealed that 62% of the top scorers across the NBA teams use Nike as their basketball shoes, which places the brand as #1. During the playoff season, 31 athletes were wearing Nike shoes including their signatures. Shoes like Nike PG 5, Nike Zoom Kobe 4 and 5 Protro, Nike KD 14, and Nike Kyrie were among the most worn. Paul George was recorded as the highest scoring player with a total of 511 points up until Game 1 Finals.
Nike is closely followed by the three-stripe brand, Adidas, which secured the second spot with 14%. Adidas Trae Young 1 made its first debut this season. These shoes helped Young to score 461 points on his first appearance in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Air Jordan (a subsidiary of Nike) ranked as the third top-scoring shoe with 10% of the athletes wearing the iconically famous sneakers. Shoes like Air Jordan 35 are worn by athletes like Luka Doncic, Nicolas Batum, and Jayson Tatum. Whereas, Chris Paul was wearing his signature shoes, Jordan CP13.12.
Further down the list are more familiar brands, including UnderArmour (4%), Puma (4%), New Balance (2%), Peak (2%), and Li-Ning (2%).
The Growing Roster of Signature Shoes
When it comes to signature shoes, it seems like brands have gone over and beyond to build a mutual partnership with the NBA players. This was seen in all the top 50 players with the highest points as 36% of them were wearing their own signature shoes.
It may not come as a shock to see that a lot of players are wearing Kobe’s shoes. The Protro especially is worn by Khris Middleton (427 pts), Devin Booker (459 pts), Jrue Holiday (309 pts), Tobias Harris (261 pts), and many others to perform their best on the court. While this could also be attributed to a response to Kobe’s tragic incident in early 2020, Kobe’s shoes are universally adored for their unmatched performance features and pleasing low-cut aesthetic.
Another signature shoe line that is growing popular is Giannis’ Zoom Freak. Not only did his shoes play a part for Bucks to win the championship for the first time in 50 years, but he also earned various MVP trophies such as regular-season MVP, NBA defensive player, and NBA Finals MVP, matching the feat of Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Other NBA players that used their own signature shoes are the likes of Paul George with his Nike PG line, Kyrie Irving with his Nike Kyrie line, Kevin Durant with his Nike KD14, James Harden with Harden Vol5, and many more.
Surprisingly, LeBron James’ signature shoes (Nike LeBron 18) didn’t receive much traction from other players during the playoffs. There haven’t been many players wearing his shoes. However, this doesn’t mean that James’ shoes were not pleasantly performing on the court, given that he scored 140 during Round 1.
There you have it. The top-scoring NBA shoes have been revealed. Which one is your favourite pair?
Methodology
The top 50 players with the highest score were obtained from https://www.nba.com/stats as of Game 1 Finals NBA Playoffs in 2020-2021. The players’ latest shoes worn were identified, and these shoe brands were gathered from https://ballershoesdb.com.
About iPrice Group
iPrice Group is Southeast Asia’s leading online shopping companion. With a mission to bring a greater level of transparency, convenience and trust to the e-commerce market across Southeast Asia in order to help people save money, the company today operates in seven countries across Southeast Asia namely Malaysia, Singapore,Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. Currently, iPrice compares and catalogs 6+ billion e-commerce offers from more than 2 million sellers, attracting more than 35 million monthly visits across the region. iPrice currently operates under its own brand iPrice and through various partnerships with leading apps, such as SmartPay (Vietnam), Boost (Malaysia), GoRewards (Philippines), Home Credit (Indonesia) Visense (Singapore), Robinsons rewards (Philippines) & Boost (Malaysia).
