Technically every basketball shoe can be worn outside.
That’s the short easy answer. But;
The cardinal rule is to never wear your indoor shoes outside. Doing so can cause your basketball shoes to lose both grip and color faster. If you avoid exposing them to the elements, they will likely last much longer. By only wearing your shoes on the court, you can keep them cleaner as well.
(You can read this article 3 Basic Types of Basketball Shoes to understand the basic categories of shoes)
In reality, certain shoes will degrade faster than others. Some people don’t care. The shoe they like is the shoe they like. I’m kind of like this. For others they care greatly and want a different outdoor shoe. I’m mostly like this. Take a good look at the shoe below
Those are my current shoes. Those are Nike Zoom Hyperfranchise XD’s. The XD is very important. That stands for extra durable. Some shoes will actually have the letter XD (or XDR, for extra durable rubble) somewhere along the sole. Heck, some shoes will directly tell you, like mine do. If you look closely at the grey toe rim of the shoe it literally says “for outdoor use”.
The “extra durable” is important because most outdoor courts are made of asphalt and that surface wears down sneakers very quickly.
So look for shoes that feature the XD/XDR logo or say “for outdoor use”. Not all sneakers will say it however and in those situations look for shoes that have a fully rubber sole. They tend to have a larger heel as there is more rubber to help protect it. In some cases you may find shoes that look just like the regular indoor shoes. In that case look for ones with great traction. Hyperdunks were and still are solid example of this.
That’s the middle, longer answer.
Then there’s one more answer. Wear what you like. Just be willing to acknowledge that your sneakers may not last as long as they aren’t made for outdoor unless…you play on one of these
Don’t focus on the house in the background. A number of public parks are starting to use these surfaces for their courts. That is an advanced multi-purpose court. I currently play on these at two different parks that my basketball groups frequent in my area. These courts are much kinder to shoes (and your skin should you fall, but that’s another thing). While asphalt is a rough surface, courts like these are made out of different surface solutions and may feature rubber and polypropylene.
Those types of courts are much better with shock absorption and durability and will not kill your shoes nearly as fast. If you have access to a court like this (again it will depend on the area you live in) then you don’t have to worry as much when selecting shoes and once again I’d go with what feels the best rather than what’s the most durable. Remember this isn’t to say your shoe won’t wear down on these types of courts. But you’ll be able to hold onto your shoes much longer, hence getting more value.
However to give you the most basic and straightforward answer here’s a list of great outdoor shoes, some I’ve used, some players I play with use and some I’ve seen on reviews.
- Adidas Crazylight Boosts
- Lebron Soldier 11 (The Soldier series are constantly listed among the best outdoor shoes)
- Curry 3Zero
- UA Drive 4’s
- Kyrie 3’s
- Anta KT2
- Anta KT3
- Jordan Rising High (Which is the only pair of Jordan’s I’d put on this list)
- Kobe Mentality’s (Also a top outdoor shoe)
- Nike Hyper Rev (Another sneaker that I own and one of the more affordable options for what you get. I been using mine for over a year with constant indoor and outdoor play.)
