Lebron 23 Performance Review

Are we really on number 23? And no, I am not talking about jersey number.. I am talking about shoe models! I remember watching this guy play when he was in high school! Time flies! Hard to believe we are on number 23, but now that I have played in them, let's talk about it!

What is going on, everyone?? AirJayP is back again, and today we are gonna talk about the 23rd Lebron model from Nike Basketball. The past few models since the 20 I have liked, and others liked not so much. How will the 23's fare?? Time to find out!

Traction: 5/5

The traction setup on the Lebron 23 was definitely a bright spot for this sneaker. These gripped and had a great bite to them as well. I had no issues with these laterally or vertically, and they also performed very well on clean or dusty courts. I didn't notice any wiping or slipping for me either. Most models do feature a translucent outsole, which normally can give some dust trouble. I am not saying that it won't, but this was something that I just didn't notice or have trouble with. I love a good traction setup, and that is usually what I am looking for to be the strongest point of my shoe on court, and these were definitely superior in that category.

Fit: 4/5

The fit gave me no significant issues, but the sneaker did fit me a little longer than I had expected. I am known to always go down half a size in my basketball sneakers, and these are no different. I went with my normal down half and did notice these fit me a little long. Though with that being said, they didn't slip or offer me any type of negative impact as I may have expected on the initial try on. My recommendation here would be to try these on in-store first, if you think this may be an issue for you. Otherwise, I would go with what sizing you normally do with Nike Basketball shoes.

Cushion: 4/5

The rating of 4/5 comes with a tag of preference. If you are looking for a ton of cushion, comfort, mixed with some response and bounce, you are going to love these. If you are looking for more direct court feel, and not so plush, these may not be for you. I will also say that on almost every occasion with the Lebron line, we are getting a more cushioned, impact protection type feel. Let's face it, Lebron is a pretty big dude who definitely needs this! With that being said, if you have liked the Lebron line, cushion-wise, in the past.. I see it being no different here. The cushion is a drop-in midsole system that features Full Length Zoom-X. I do believe that overall, this setup, though being very comfortable, does offer a little more response than I have seen on some previous Lebron models that had superior cushioning. My point here is this: you are definitely getting a more cushioned/premium feel with these, but you will still notice some bounce as well. I did notice some court feel, but not a lot, and for a lot of questions/comments, I get that is what most are looking for. The only downfall for me with a drop-in system is that sometimes it will over time, move around or start to slide on me a bit. These did do that and started making some loud noises on sudden stops, etc. Nothing that really bothered me much performance-wise, but the noise can be somewhat of an annoyance if that bugs you. Pretty solid setup though from a cushion standpoint, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of these drop-in setups come back more from Nike going forward!

Lockdown: 4/5

The lockdown was another area that I had no issues with, and they didn't miss on with the Lebron 23. The carbon fiber plate that is within the drop in midsole gave these the movement and non-movement needed to keep you locked in, in all directions. The lacing was basically standard and I was able to get these laced to my liking. The plate definitely helps with torsional support and had me feeling locked from an ankle roll standpoint. For me the two strongest or my favorite parts of the shoe were the lockdown and traction. I thought the shoe excelled in both these categories. No problems from a lockdown standpoint, and really only praises from this category from me.

Materials: 3.7/5

There were a few surpises, excitements, and letdowns I would say from the materials standpoint. For the most part everything is pretty lightweight, but the shape of the shoe is kind of odd to me. I have heard all the creasing complaints, and they do crease in certain areas, mostly amongst the forefoot into the toe area on the sides of the shoe where most of the flexing of the foot occurs. This doesn't bother me much, as personally, these were purchased for me to hoop in. I do not see these creasing as heavily if they are only wore casually. On court though, it will happen. Next up the outer shell, I had thought would be stiffer and almost like a foamposite upper. This was an area that I was actually happy with as it was more flexible as well as way softer than I had imagined. With that being said though, had it been harder and more stiff there would probably be less creasing. Once again as a hoop shoe I am not much worried about this. With the knit upper, which is mostly on the top part of the foot, I had expected it to be softer and defnitiely more breathable. It is not very soft to the touch, and doesn't give me much of a premium type vibe. These are definitely lacking on the breathability as mentioned as well. The inner liner does feel nice on foot and the tongue is also nicely padded. When you get these on foot you are going to definitely feel comfortable between the inner liner/cushion. That will not be an issue whatsoever. To sum it up, the shell was a surprise, as much softer than expected, the knit was stiffer than expected, and the creasing could be a problem for some.. The materials didn't give me a lot of issues on court, but they also didn't wow me in many ways either.

Shape: 2/5

Here we are with one of those special added in categories we occasionally do. The Lebron 23 was somewhat of a nice touch in all aspects on court, but for whatever reason I just couldn't come to love them. At first I could't pinpoint what the issue or problem was. The shape or how these felt on foot in general were just a little odd or off to me. My feet felt very wide while playing in them. They almost seemed heavy, even though I knew the materials/shoe felt pretty light.. I had a very clunky type feel on court, but once again not necesarily a heavy but more of a wide feeling. This may be a great, positive thing for some, but I just couldn't get the ultimate groove going on court with these. Had these been a little more narrow, or quite honestly just felt like a normal size width of shoe for me, These may have been a very strong candidate for hoop shoe of the year performance wise.

Overall: 3.5/5

When you break down each entire category these rate or rank out very high in my opinion. Each category definitely hits well on court. The lone issue, and it was a pretty big one for me was just the way the shoe felt on my foot on court. I know we just mentioned it, but that clunky feel just wasn't cutting it for me. Once again every aspect was a nice touch, and fairly premium as usual from the Lebron line. If I was 6-8 to 6-9 as Lebron is, these would probably be amazing and quite frankly the reason they are this way with the shape etc. With me being around the 5-10 range in height, I am just looking for something a little more narrow. With that being said if you have played in the Lebron line in the past, you have an idea for the general feel of his models with most being quite similar especially in the cushion/comfort/impact protection category. If you like that feel on court, I definitely would't shy away from these, as they are a very nice hoop shoe to play in. I just think that preference wise these will be for some and some not so much.

Thank You For Checking Out This Review On The Lebron 23

HAVE A GREAT WEEK & AS ALWAYS HAPPY HOOPING!!