Nike Ja 1 Review 2023

 The Nike Ja 1 will be an excellent basketball shoe for on-court performance.

However, if you’re looking for something crazy like a full-length in straw Wing or super soft as far as the foam goes, the Ja 1 is not the best

But if you want something in the middle that does everything well, this is a great option. You can move right with good traction, sturdy cushioning, and suitable materials.

Pros

• Responsive Phylon
• Excellent Traction
• Performs well outdoors.
• Good for ankle support
• Great cushioning setup

Cons

• Fit may be too tight
• Material quality is okay

Detailed Nike Ja 1 Review

Nike Ja 1 is a pretty light shoe, which feels light in hand and on foot. The shoe feels minimal but also very supportive. You feel really quick when you’re playing it just because the traction is top-tier.

As indicated by our tests, the cushion is adequate, with great support. However, you must be careful about the size because it’s snug in the toe box.

The cushion is a lightweight phylon midsole that feels firm. Then there’s a Zoom unit in the forefoot, and the insole is not ortho-lite.

As far as pricing goes, there is good news and this is where it gets good. The shoe retails for hundred and ten dollars– a very low budget price for a first signature shoe.

In the insole, It’s just an open-celled foam, but it’s fully removable. Just make sure that you remove it before you play on them because otherwise, this glue will stick to the fabric.

From a profile perspective, they are good-looking shoes like a Nike SB. For the fit, they are snug, so if you are a wide footer, you should go up a size.

What’s Exciting About Nike Kyrie Infinity?

The exciting part about Nike Ja 1 is that it has a super cool extended TPU switch. It provides a unique way to carry your kicks into the gym along with messaging across the shoe inspired by his family and work ethic.

The handwritten repeating graphic speaks to Morant’s mindset to approach every day with a grind mentality.

Then there’s their signature logo and jersey number, sketched in his handwriting.

Additionally, the base of the lace is internal for a tighter fit around the forefoot, whereas the top laces are external for a more customizable fit, especially if you wear a brace because it’ll pop that thing in

For aesthetics, the Ja 1 one looks fantastic with an incredible colorway. Some colorways we’ve seen on Nike basketball signature shoes could be better. These, on the other hand, are good colorways, especially on feet.

These will be one of the best Signature shoes from Nike basketball in a very long time because low-top regular shoes look like casual shoes like a Nike SB or an Air Force One.

This colorway is going to do numbers, especially with the inverted colors and the price point at 110.

Main Facts

• Colors: Excellent
• Material: Good
• Design & Style: Eye-catchy

 

Traction

Nike Ja 1 has a solid rubber outsole with a very aggressive herringbone traction pattern to enable the cuts and movements essential to Morant’s playstyle.

Drawing from our experience, it’s one of the best tractions, so you don’t have to break it in at all– It is pretty good right out of the box.

Main Facts

• Pattern: Herringbone
• Grip: Excellent
• Use: Good for inner and outer court use
• Maintenance: easy to clean

 

Heel-to-toe Transition

Based on our first hand experience, the heel to toe transition is pretty smooth. It is caged a little bit here in the back of the heel.

The rubber outsole does come with the cage in the middle, but we still have an excellent little compression in the heel.

Then we have an excellent curved shape and a good amount of forefoot flex in the forefoot. So it’s super flexible. It has a nice little spring back, nothing crazy, however.

Main Facts

• Flexibility: Amazing
• Outer sole: Smooth
• Torsion support: Excellent
• Heel Compression: Excellent

 

Cushion

We have a very hard internal TPU heel counter in the heel, and in the Midfield, we have a pretty thick plastic swoosh that goes all the way around into the heel and onto the other side.

So lateral containment is good. Even if you’re a bigger guy and doing super crazy shifty lateral movements, you will be good to go.

Also, the Ja 1 has a lot of stability. Impact protection, especially in the heel, is adequate, and then here in the forefoot, we have a nice top-loaded Zoom unit.

After putting it to test, we found the shoe has an overall responsive cushion, with bounce and adequate impact protection. Also, the cord field is quite good.

Main Facts

• Comfort: Great
• Softness: Great
• Material:  Good

 

Material

With Nike Ja 1, we have a ballistic mesh material, and also we have some leather materials as well in the toe.

The materials on the upper have a combination of synthetic textile leathers and some TPU reinforcements, whereas the lightweight, breathable materials on the upper help keep your feet cool.

We have a synthetic leather material on the strap that feels like it could be cheaper.

So in the forefoot, it’s pretty damn thin and feels very minimal. It feels great on foot, but it’s super supportive, and this material has zero stretch. So this overall upper felt great on foot.

Then in the midfoot, it stays thin as well and very, very minimal but also super supportive. On the lateral and medial sides, the synthetic leather overlays and adds a little bit of support.

For the tongue, it’s actually pretty nicely padded and has a good amount of padding.

It feels nice and cozy on top of your foot and also in the ankle area right, especially on the sides of the shoe right on the lateral and medial side.

Here there’s a good amount of padding, which feels very, very nice and cozy.

Then we have the toe guard for extra support and durability, especially if you do toe drags.

The material quality, especially for 110 bucks, isn’t bad at all– nothing feels extremely cheap.

Main Facts

• Upper material: Excellent
• Tongue: Excellent
• Ankle Support: Good
• Forefoot Flexibility: Good

 

Support/ Fit & Lockdown

If you go true to size right, it fits really, really well and has an extremely snug fit. But after trying out this product, it feels super fit in the toe box

So for the majority of people, we suggest going up half a size. If you have a skinny foot and you want an extremely snug fit, then go through the size.

But if you have a wide foot or you want a really roomy fit, then probably go up a full size.

For the support and lockdown also, this shoe is extremely supportive, especially of how lightweight the shoe is.

There is the foam coming up a little bit, acting as a sidewall, and also this leather overlay, so it stiffens up this material. This ballistic mesh is an extremely supportive material.

After putting it to test, the foot was not coming out of the footbed at all foot also was not moving around inside of the shoes just because it was really snug fit

The lockdown is very good, with an excellent lacing system, and the padding around the ankle collar keeps the back of the heel very tight and locked down.

It has a containment system and a four-foot strap that helps keep your ankles and heels stable. It has a nice heel counter along with TPU reinforcements for good lateral stability

Main Facts

• Grip: Excellent
• Support: Great
• Fit: Excellent
• Lockdown system: Great

 

Indoor & Outdoor Durability

If you’re playing on a clean Court, you should be good to go. Also, if you play on a dusty court as well, you’re gonna be having an amazing time on it.

It does not pick up much dust, and even if it picks up a little bit of dust, you are good to go with a slight wipe.

If you feel the grooves in the rubber, the rubber is very, very hard in this outsole, and the grooves are very deep, and we have a lot of surface area.

We have a lot of rubber here throughout the entire outsole, so you should be good to go on the outer court as well.

Main Facts

• Traction: Excellent
• Durability: Good
• Maintenance: Great

Ventilation

Nike Ja 1 has decent ventilation. There’s not a whole lot of airflow through this ballistic mesh, and also, we have these leather overlays.

And then in the back of the shoe, we have a good amount of foam, so it is on the warmer side of things, not the best for ventilation

Main Facts

• Mesh: Okay
• Fabric Quality: Too Good
• Upper Material: Okay

Best Shoes For Ankle Support

The Nike Ja 1 is the best shoe for ankle support. It has a little Zoom unit in the midsole, and there’s a nice little compression and bounce.

The shoes are pretty good for the core field as well, so its cushioning setup does everything really well.

For the traction, it’s pretty solid, but it was inconsistent. There’s not that much impact, but you are getting a good core feel and responsiveness.

Though the materials aren’t very premium, it’s pretty standard for a first signature budget shoe, and it gets the job.

Overall it felt great on foot and felt supportive and minimal, but also it doesn’t feel too cheap for material quality, especially for the price.