The Nike Giannis Immortality falls under the category of signature athlete budget model. But, the funny thing is, this isn’t like any other take down. It’s one of the best of its kind. With Giannis just winning a championship, getting a good-performing, more budget-friendly shoe from him is simply a win for both his fans and hoopers all over.
Traction
The traction pattern is herringbone everywhere. No exceptions. It is sectioned, though. But, I didn’t find that to be an issue for the outsole’s overall performance.
It was solid. Nothing to write home about, but it was good nonetheless. It’s not noisy so you might not notice it biting the floor really well until you’re done playing and realize you barely slipped. Wipes aren’t really necessary because the grooves are deep. I did play in the solid rubber option, so keep that in mind. Overall, the Immortality provides solid performance without the gimmicks.
Cushion
Phylon. Period. I wish there was more to say about the cushion technology on this, but there simply isn’t. Instead they use the cushion for some cool Giannis details. “Lagos,” his parents’ hometown, is on the right heel and “Athens,” his hometown, is on the left heel. When I saw this, that’s when I thought that they made this shoe for nostalgic purposes, and not really performance per se.
But, the cushion wasn’t terrible. When I first tried them on, they felt like bricks. Just no compression whatsoever. Some of the phylon is caged with the outsole coming up on the lateral heel and a bit on the medial forefoot. After the first half hour of playing, though, I was surprised that I was getting some compression and comfort. The inevitable happened and it just got softer and softer and softer with every wear. Compression creases were very apparent and I love that because that lets me know that the foam is doing its job. Biggest surprise of this sb dunk by far. And yes, just Phylon can do the job.
Materials
The materials are where we get the $80 price tag. We have a full on thin jacquard upper with fuse overlays on high-wear areas. The back section is a micro-molded mesh which feels like neoprene. The tongue is mostly a more open-celled mesh, with the upper section being a very synthetic leather. I don’t know if I have ever felt a more synthetic leather than this one. The reverse Swoosh is on both medial sides of the sneaker – a little call back to the Nike Zoom Freak 1.
The materials are comfortable enough, but you can definitely feel how thin it is. It still contains the foot well, though, so there’s nothing too much to complain about. They do break in more over time, even for a knit. With that price, what more could we really expect? You get what you pay for.
Fit
I’d say true to size, but narrow-footers could probably go down half a size. At first, it’s a good, snug fit. After the break-in period, which is a few hours of playing, the shoe does get a bit looser. Also, don’t use thin socks with these. It’ll compromise the fit. As always, try them on in store if you can.
Support
Support is a bit tricky here. The heel feels like the forefoot of a Kyrie shoe. While the heel portion of the midsole does curve so one can roll into their stride easier, that same curved shape gives a wobbly experience at times on lateral movements. And be careful on heel strikes because you will have to catch yourself in these a bit more than others. The forefoot, though, has an outrigger that outdoes most Nike basketball shoes right now. I almost rolled my ankle on these twice, maybe because of that heel, but the outrigger saved me. It’s kind of counterintuitive, but it still works. The small synthetic lateral midfoot piece on the inside helped with containing the foot and keeping it on the foot bed. So, support is solid, but takes some getting used to.
Overall
If you’re on a budget, (I don’t blame you for not wanting to spend $150+ on a shoe) but want a solid option on-court, get the Nike Giannis Immortality. Sure, there’s no Air or Zoom, yet it still provides the performance that even signature models sometimes can’t achieve. (I’m looking at you Harden Vol. 5) Everything is good enough for me to consider this a good performer, and not just a barely-made-the-team one. Bang for your buck? I’d say so.
