What's good!
As always, it's Daumantas from the Baller squad. Today, we're doing a performance review on this year's most underrated basketball shoe - Nike Zoom Freak 5.
Does the polarising look of the fifth Giannis' signature shoe hide great on-court performance? There's only one way to find out.
Let's get it!
MATERIALS
Keeping things minimal and lightweight in the Zoom Freak 5, an ultra-thin woven mesh shares the framework with synthetic leather, which runs through the center of the shoe and wraps the massive swoosh on the side.
The whole upper feels soft and form-fitting inside out, as they kept the structure quite basic in terms of paneling and layers. More so, synthetic leather in the toe box has a foam underlay to add extra comfort to the overall on-foot experience. Also, the stitching on each shoe does differ for a reason. It creates a little Easter egg, which showcases Giannis' jersey number.
CUSHION
A drastically updated silhouette of the Freak 5 led to significant technical changes, especially in the cushion department.
The Zoom Freak 5 swaps out the dual Zoom Air pod setup that has become an integral part of Giannis' flagship lineup for a standard, top-loaded Zoom Air unit in the forefoot. Unlike the line's most popular and bounciest iteration - Zoom Freak 4, the new model features a more guard-oriented platform. The forefoot stays pretty low to the ground by offering plenty of court feel and responsiveness, while the Zoom Air unit gives a light bounce sensation.
The indent located at the bottom creates more room for the foam to expand and increase its longevity in the long run. That, combined with already soft foam, the heel generates tons of compression and impact protection when crash-landing on your heels.
TRACTION
The Zoom Freak line has never been known for elite traction performance, but the fifth generation is ready to rewrite the history.
The front half of the outsole is fully covered in a bunch of Giannis' logos, while a beefy smear pattern takes over the back section. It's quite an odd setup, however, this stuff means business once you hit the court. A wide forefoot base, together with a fairly soft rubber compound, generates some serious bite and stopping power, allowing you to be sharp and move with confidence.
Due to a busy forefoot tread, stepping on a dusty court will make you wipe quite often. Thankfully, dust doesn't stick too hard on these, so a quick wipe will be enough to make your bottoms stick again. Also, we highly recommend avoiding outdoor courts even if you have a chance to get an XDR version.
FIT
A lightweight framework put the Zoom Freak 5 in the same weight division, next to the Jordan Tatum 1, to become one of the lightest offerings in this year's market.
From the very first step-in, the shoe welcomes you with a snug, adaptive fit that comes from highly flexible upper materials. There's also an asymmetrical lacing system combined with a nice amount of padding around the tongue and ankle areas to achieve a more secure fit and add extra comfort.
Compared to the prior iterations, the Zoom Freak 5 feels much faster and more agile on the court, letting you quickly pick up the speed and be effective with your footwork. Talking about the sizing, this year's model has a more tapered toe box, which won't affect regular or narrow footers - true to size is what we recommend. However, wide footers might want to go half a size up with these.
SUPPORT
Despite having a basic structure, the Freak 5 stays solid in the support department.
A low-profile base quite aggressively expands in the forefoot to create a wider surface area, which leads to more precise and stable foot planting in all situations.
Up top, the asymmetrical lacing system features two outrigger lace eyelets on each side that go all the way down in the midsole. Once you secure the fit, those wide synthetic straps wrap around your foot and completely lock it onto the footbed.
The Zoom Freak line continues not to feature a torsional plate, and while that sounds like an issue, it won't affect most of the players. Unless you have an incredibly shifty playstyle.
VERDICT
A heavily updated silhouette made the Zoom Freak 5 look and play differently but in a good way.
Offering an elite traction performance, one of the lightest in-the-game constructions, and a heavily responsive cushion setup - the Zoom Freak 5 is one of the best options for guards. Nonetheless, the DNA of the Zoom Freka line's versatility is still here, allowing this model to be enjoyed by many players, regardless of position or playing style. And while the new look of the Zoom Freak line has received mixed reviews, it's a true sleeper in the basketball shoe market.
You can grab these shoes and many other at www.baller.lt
