The 9th iteration of Kevin Durant's budget model is a solid choice for price-conscious basketball players. The traction performs well on clean courts and outdoors, but has some issues when you are playing on a dusty indoor court. The full-length Renew foam cushioning offers solid impact protection and the forefoot Zoom unit adds a little bounce. Materials are surprisingly nice for a budget model, conform to your feet nicely, and provide enough support for all but the most explosive or heavy athletes. For a budget model, the KD Trey 5 IX is a solid performer. It doesn't compete with more expensive signature models, but it's a good pickup if you are looking for a lightweight and minimal basketball shoe.
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Expert Reviews of the Nike KD Trey 5 IX:
For $90 retail this is a solid pickup. The firm cushioning feels like a downgrade to me, everything else is an upgrade from previous KD Trey 5 models.
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The KD Trey 5 IX is a solid performer. This shoe might be for you if you are looking for a lightweight, minimal, and affordable shoe.
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User Reviews of the Nike KD Trey 5 IX:
This is shoe is solid if your looking for a budget sneaker. The traction is solid, but would not recommend for outdoors. The cushion is solid but not the best. The support is decent but I did roll my ankle a few times in it. The materials are soft and breathable. The shoe does also fit true to size.
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The shoe is very comfortable and is great for its price. It has Nike Zoom Air in the soles, which is incredibly comfortable when applying pressure. Material feels somewhat thin but is surprisingly very durable. 8.2/10.
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its ok for a first shoe/budget option. Doesnt really lack in anything but doesnt excel in anything either. Really mediocre but when taking into consideration price they are ok.
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I had these shoes for 4 months, and they are destroyed, I play 3 times a week, everytime that I play my feets hurts, if you want to buy them think twice.
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I love the blue KD Trey 5 IX! They go with my basketball uniform and are super comfortable. These shoes have good grip on the court too!
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Traction of the Nike KD Trey 5 IX:
The traction is really good on clean courts but you'll need to wipe on dusty courts because dust gets stuck in the traction pattern.
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On clean courts, you get a nice, solid bite. On dustier courts, the traction wasn't as nice. Even wiping a lot I didn't get the performance I wanted.
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Cushion of the Nike KD Trey 5 IX:
The full-length Review cushioning feels firmer than previous KD Trey 5 models. The forefoot Zoom unit is barely noticeable.
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The full-length Review cushioning is pretty soft and offers better impact protection than Phylon. The forefoot Zoom unit offers a nice subtle bounce. The cushioning is my favorite part of this shoe.
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Materials of the Nike KD Trey 5 IX:
The upper materials are actually pretty nice considering the budget price.
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The textile materials feel soft, supportive, and conform well to your feet. Considering the budget price, the materials are pretty damn nice!
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Support of the Nike KD Trey 5 IX:
The heel counter locked down my feet securely, I didn't experience any side-to-side movement on the footbed, and the wide base offers solid lateral stability.
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Lateral support and containment were good for me, but if you are a big guy these might not be supportive enough.
The Nike Trey 5 X is a very reliable budget option. You get solid cushion and traction but weaker budget materials.
Release Date: 2022
Price: $100
The Nike KD Trey 5 X is a solid budget offering from Nike. It’s this year’s takedown model of Kevin Durant’s signature line, which has brought us some of the best signature shoes in recent years. This model clearly takes some design inspiration from the last year’s Nike KD 14. Tech-wise, the shoe feels like someone gave the development team their spare change and told them to get as close to the KD 14 as possible.
But even so, I think they did a decent job and as much as they could while keeping the shoe under $100. This shoe was good enough to make our Best Budget Basketball Shoes, Best for Outdoors, and Best High Tops. Now, let’s dive into the performance features and break everything down.
Traction
The traction on the KD Trey 5 X is solid. The sole features a heat map-style traction pattern that offers multidirectional coverage. So whether you are moving side to side on defense or making a hard cut, these guys won’t leave you hanging.
The rubber compound is not the hardest rubber I’ve ever played in but it also isn’t the softest. Plus, the grooves are pretty deep. So, if you’re planning on playing outdoors with these, I’d say they’re a good option, especially considering the price tag.
Indoors, the traction also did its job well, but the grooves are close together in certain portions of the shoe (ie the forefoot) so I did have to stop and wipe down a couple of times.
Cushion
The cushion on the KD Trey 5 X is the shoe’s best feature, and wouldn’t be out of place on a more premium shoe. In fact, the technology used is pretty similar to the Nike Kyrie Low 5: a rectangular Zoom Air unit in the forefoot and a full-length foam midsole (in this case Renew). The shoes don’t feel anything alike, but the Kyrie Low 5 goes for $15 more.
You get a good amount of impact protection without feeling like you’re sinking into the shoe, or that the shoe won’t react at the speed you want it to. Plus, you can definitely feel the Air Zoom unit in the forefoot, which adds some bounce to your step.
I keep thinking of these as outdoor shoes, maybe because I associate budget shoes with outdoor use. But this setup makes the KD Trey 5 X a great outdoor option, and they’re equally serviceable indoors.
Materials
The materials are the weakest point of this shoe by far. It’s a shame because if the materials on the KD Trey 5 X had been even remotely like the ones on the Kyrie Low 5, I think these would have had a chance to make it onto our best basketball shoe list for the year.
Materials really can elevate a shoe from being mediocre or good to being great. Materials don’t only contribute to the aesthetics of a shoe, they affect fit, lockdown, support, and just the general feeling that a shoe is cheap and not a budget model. Those are two different things.
Unfortunately, the materials on the KD Trey 5 X feel cheap. Not only that, they’re a detriment to the shoe’s containment and all-around fit. When you have shoes like the Puma Court Rider 2 or the Jordan Zoom Separate out there in the same price range with, not necessarily more expensive materials, just better ones, it’s a bit of a bummer.
Fit
The shoe fits ok. The materials (mentioned above) don’t help. The materials are soft and forgiving, but a little bit too much. The one saving grace is that the forefoot strap is functional and does help enhance the fit and the shoe’s overall containment.
This being said, wide-footers might find the soft, malleable materials more accommodating than those in other shoes.
Support
The support is a little hit or miss. You have a relatively wide base that helps with stability, a decent heel counter, two rubber pieces on either side of your heel for added support, and the forefoot strap does help lock down your foot.
On the other hand, there is no torsional plate, so the shoe does bend easily and, once again, the materials do very little to keep your foot securely on the footbed.
I didn’t run into any serious issues with the support while playing, but I can see scenarios where the support of the KD Trey 5 X could fail.
Overall
Overall, I did enjoy playing in the KD Trey 5 X and I do think that it has some really nice performance features. It’s a shame that they didn’t put a little more money into these shoes, because there’s potential for them to be a great performance model.
I think they can be a reliable first option on the court if you’re restricted to a budget. As a secondary pair for practices or as an outdoor option I think these are a no-brainer for most players. If you prefer cushioning on the more reactive side, or you think support might be an issue for you, then you should probably look elsewhere.
Is KD 5 good for outdoor?
The traction performs well on clean courts and outdoors, but has some issues when you are playing on a dusty indoor court. The full-length Renew foam cushioning offers solid impact protection and the forefoot Zoom unit adds a little bounce.
Is kd trey 5 lightweight?
With its lightweight upper and plush support system, the KD Trey 5 X can help you float like KD, waiting for the perfect moment to drive to the hoop.
Do kd trey 5 fit true to size?
The Nike KD Trey 5 III fits true to size and is really snug. Wide footers may want to go up half a size to have a more comfortable fit.
What does kd trey mean?
Kevin Durant Gets a Shoe Named After His Twitter Handle With the Nike KD Trey 5 II "China" ByDaniel Mitchell.