How To Get Grip On Basketball Shoes? It’s Easy In 2022

Basketball players’ shoes have been of so many types that are now uncounted. There have been so many changes in the basketball shoes of the players for more style, comfort, flexibility, and whatnot.

Currently, basketball shoes are so advanced in almost everything that every player out there is just enjoying whatever their shoes offer. Unfortunately, one thing that almost every player has been found asking is how to get grip on basketball shoes.

In this article, we cover almost all angles of this question. But before moving on to the main question, you should know if you can add a grip on your basketball shoes or not.

Can you really add more grip on your basketball shoes?

The traction that is also known as grip on the floor is very crucial in a player’s performance during a match. This is what helps all the players in moving faster, take a sudden step, and then quickly stop. Basically, the grip is just the amount of friction between the shoe sole and the floor. It is common sense that the more your shoes stick hard to the ground, the easier it becomes for you to maneuver.

Well now we know what grip is, but the question still remains. Can you add more grip on your basketball shoes?

There was no such technique in the old days because once you have a readymade shoe, that’s it. You could not change anything to add or remove traction from the shoes. Therefore, as far as the shoes have been developing over time, their capabilities have also been prompted.

There are a lot of different techniques used by almost all the basketball players who know any of them to add more traction to their shoes. For example, they use saliva, Vaseline, and specially produced liquids for just basketball shoes. So yes, you can easily add more grip on your basketball shoes.

How to get grip on basketball shoes?

Basketball players have been using so many techniques for more than several years that all of them have not been old yet. You can still use all of those techniques and they work pretty well though their results can vary.

We have compiled a list of some of the most famous and the easiest as well as advanced level techniques to add traction.

Make your shoes wet/moistened

Players have reported that their shoes usually have more traction on the ground as compared to after they’ve been playing for some time. It’s because they collect dust and dirt from the basketball court and that’s why the management takes good care of that.

After their shoes collect dust and they start losing control over their shoes, they wipe their sole from the downside with a cloth. They wash or just wet their shoe soles from the downside afterward and that makes them a lot more gripping.

Players have been found using their own saliva or their sweat for moisturizing their shoe soles. This is because sometimes it becomes too hard to get a damp cloth during a match to clean your shoes.

Therefore, it seems to be easy for the players to just lick their tongues and rub the saliva on their shoe soles. This method not only helps them in moving and stop faster but also helps a lot in the easy handling of the ball. It’s because their palms get wet and their hands also get a good grip on the ball.

Rub Vaseline or any sticky liquid on your shoe soles

At this point, you may be confused about why Vaseline for adding more grip on the shoes. After all, we’ve always been using Vaseline for lubrication instead of increasing the traction. But there’s a hidden fact about this method that is very helpful.

If you use Vaseline and rub it under your shoe soles, it retains moisture afterward for too long. Therefore, rubbing a thick layer of Vaseline under your shoe soles is another way of increasing your sole’s grip on the basketball court.

Use sandpaper to add traction

Have you seen the grooves on a car tire? Those grooves are there to increase friction between your car tires and the road. Similarly, the shoe brands make grooves in their basketball shoe soles to add more traction that helps in movements. But that only helps when they are new. After they are worn out, the shoe soles lose their grooves and that’s why their grip decreases on the ground.

But rubbing sandpaper under your shoe soles makes them a little rough. And when the soles get rough, they get a little more traction. But once the shoes are worn for one or two games, you may have to do it again. That tells us that this is not a permanent solution to this problem. But still, it is a cheaper and repetitive solution that lasts shorter.

Use lotions specially made for your basketball shoes

For so long the players have been complaining about the lost traction. They were demanding more grip enhancement products, companies have kept an eye on this issue. And not after so long, companies developed some products for grip enhancement of the shoe soles.

There have been many changes from the first product to the latest one. All the enterprises have been claiming even more traction in each of their product. Once you start using them, you will better decide how better your lotion results are.

There are so many other products too like traction mats, and chemical sprays for increased shoe grip. The traction mats work in removing dust from your shoes as soon as possible while the sprays are to react with your shoe soles.

Chemical sprays make your shoes grip more on the ground by reacting with the rubber of your shoe soles. You can see that there are so many products on the market to give a solution of how to get grip on basketball.

Cleaning your shoes regularly makes it easy to get a grip

It is better to try the above methods first and see if they work for you or not. But supposing they didn’t work for you, you have to thoroughly clean your shoes. It depends on your wallet if you do it yourself or hire someone like a shoe cleaner for this.

But it is mandatory for you to get your shoes cleaned under your supervision. When you clean your shoes thoroughly and remove all the dirt and accumulated dust from the sole, it helps in increasing your sole’s traction.

To clean it, even more, you can brush throughout the sole for better treatment of your shoes. Brushing gets even those particles of dust out of the grooves that didn’t come out in the normal cleaning session.

Tips on how to maintain the grip of your basketball shoes

The above-described methods are to regain the traction of your shoes. But how better would it be if you do not need to go through any of those methods? That’s right, you can prevent your shoes from losing traction by taking some precautionary measures. What are those? Let’s read further to see those helpful tips.

Keep your shoes clean and make it your habit

Dust is the major issue that appears the first out of all other problems. The dust accumulated on your shoes is although easy to clean by using just a damp cloth.

But still, sometimes you cannot take out all the dirt and that’s because it is purely fine dust. Hence, to get it out of the shoe sole, you have to use a stiff brush on it.

Make sure the court surface is cleaned before the match

If you are worried about the shoe traction on the court, make sure you follow the tip given above. But once you feel like it is getting out of control even when you have done everything for better traction, then this is the basketball court floor.

And when that happens, you have to make sure the floor is completely clean. Otherwise, you will fall no matter how well you have cleaned your shoes. Also, you and your fellow basketball players risk serious injuries that will cause problems in your career.

Make sure you never wear your basketball shoes anywhere other than the basketball court

Wearing shoes frequently makes their grooves faint and they lose the traction that you need for rapid movements. Therefore, as you may already know about it; you should not wear your basketball shoes anywhere else other than just on the court.

In fact, keep your shoes in which you practice separate and the ones you wear in your matches in a separate section if possible. This keeps you memorizing that you do not wear the shoes that you have to wear during the match. This way you also make sure that your sneakers’ lifespan is prolonged and you can make them your signature shoes.

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Conclusion

A basketball player needs a lot of grip on the floor because they have to move quickly and stop instantly. In such situations, the basketball court floor and your shoes must be able to let you do so. Otherwise, your basic requirements for becoming a professional basketball player are not complete.

We hope that we have answered the question of how to get grip on basketball shoes. If you liked this article, please share it with others. Also, don’t forget to visit this website regularly if you want to see more informative articles.