Performance Basketball Shoes Are Heating Up on StockX — Here’s Why

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Sneaker consumers are still seeking nostalgia with their purchases, whether they’re shopping at retail or on the secondary market. However, when it comes to basketball — specifically among shoppers on StockX — there are many people who are looking for newness.

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Drew Haines, merchandising director for sneakers at StockX, believes all of the brands competing in the category delivering great court-ready product at the same time is driving this demand.

“It’s clear that Nike is doing something right when it comes to their basketball category. But across the board, brands have really stepped it up and the star power is evident across the space,” Haines told FN. “LaMelo Ball has helped Puma make a huge dent in the market, Kawhi Leonard has allowed New Balance to enter the ring and Anthony Edwards, alongside established athletes like James Harden, is putting Adidas at the center of the conversation.”

With NBA All-Star Weekend here — which tips off Friday with the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and the Panini Rising Stars game at 9 p.m. ET on TNT — Haines expects to see a boost in performance basketball shoe sales around the three-day event. “It’s such a big moment in terms of sneaker releases,” he said.

Though the weekend starts today, Haines said Nike delivered its first major release on Thursday morning: KD 4 “Galaxy.” “[The shoe] is already putting up big numbers, significantly exceeding our forecasts,” he said.

Aside from the aforementioned Kevin Durant shoe, Haines said he expects the signature style of one of the league’s brightest young stars to perform well.

“Anthony Edwards, who is playing in his second All-Star game this weekend and first since the launch of his signature sneaker, is another one we’re watching,” Haines said. “His first signature shoe dropped in late December [2023] in the orange “With Love” colorway and we’ve already seen 3,000 trades over the course of a few weeks. The Adidas AE 1 “All-Star” is set to release on Saturday and we expect a strong performance from that sneaker as well.”

Since last year, some of the NBA’s younger stars with signature shoes have made their mark on StockX. The marketplace confirmed two of its three best-selling signature shoes in 2023 belonged to Ja Morant with the Nike Ja 1, which secured the No. 1 spot, and LaMelo Ball with the Puma MB.02, which came in at No. 3. StockX conformed there were more than 40,000 sales of the Nike Ja 1 in 2023, and nearly 25,000 trades of the Puma MB.02.

The No. 2 spot in 2023 was secured by NBA veteran LeBron James with the Nike LeBron 20, which StockX stated had more than 26,000 sales on the platform.

As for the performance basketball shoe with the highest average price premium on StockX, Nike secured the top spot with the Book 1, the first-ever signature model for Devin Booker. StockX stated the introductory orange “Chapter One” colorway of the shoe, which was released in limited numbers during Art Basel in Miami in December 2023, has an average resale price of $939 and an average price premium of 526 percent on the platform.

Second to the Nike Book 1 is the Nike Kobe 6, which had an average price in 2023 of $444 across all of the colorways on StockX, and an average price premium of 152 percent.

StockX also stated accessible price points are more important on the platform when it comes to performance basketball shoes. For instance, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Nike Giannis Immortality style had an average price in 2023 of just $78 on StockX, down from its $90 retail price. Also, Luka Doncic’s Jordan Luka 1 retails for $110 but is selling on StockX for around $99.

“It comes down to how these sneakers are being used. In many cases, performance basketball sneakers are being purchased to play in. That’s something that differentiates this category from the rest of the sneaker space,” Haines explained. “Accessible pricing seems to be more of a priority. This isn’t the case across the board of course, but with certain silhouettes, there seems to be a conscious decision to make the price point more accessible.”

About the Author

Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at peter.verry@footwearnews.com.

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