Responsiveness is a term usually associated with running sneakers, though it has much significance when it comes to basketball as well.

Namely, as you run, or move fast in any way, the muscles in your leg generate energy. Each time your heel makes contact with the ground - each time you ‘land’ so to speak - that energy dissipates. The point of responsive designs is to minimize the amount of energy that gets lost; the idea is that the less energy you lose in the shoe, the more powerful and faster you will feel as you run.

The way to recognize if a sneaker is indeed responsive is to try it on, and run or bounce in it for a short while. If it feels springy, if at the moment your foot hits the ground it bounces back up again, then it is responsive.

However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that this type of footwear can make you faster in any way. It is not the shoe that makes you faster, it is your own body. But some type of response from the ground is essential to keep your energy up and to nurture a natural stride as you run.

All of that being said, we can now focus on how exactly Nike makes sure that KD shoe are responsive. And the answer is simple - Nike Air Technology.

In case you’ve never heard of it - it is a cushioning system which has achieved legendary status by now, and which has forever altered the course of how sports footwear is designed and manufactured.

Nike Air consists of a flexible bag of sorts, which contains pressurized air. This provides flexibility and spring without ruining structure and keeps the sneaker snug and lightweight. It absorbs impact and immediately returns to its original shape, to absorb even more.

What we talked about in this KD shoe guide, and what Kevin Durant shoes are all outfitted with, is a version of Nike Air called Zoom Air Technology.

Zoom Air comes with a modification in the form of tightly stretched tensile fibers inside a pressurized Nike Air unit. These fibers compress each time an athlete’s foot touches down, cushioning the impact, and then springing right back up and generating an explosive response off the ground at the same time. This snappy responsiveness is simply addictive, and once you try it, you will never want to go back to regular, Nike-Air-less footwear.

When you’re on the court, mind hyper-focused on the game, the ball in your hands, and you’re zipping left and right, trying to get past that defense - the last thing you want is your foot sliding around inside your KD shoe.

No, a player’s foot needs to be secure inside the design, supported from all sides and firmly contained, so that the game doesn’t suffer, and that there are no accidents or injuries.

Support like this can be delivered in two ways: through the construction and the material of the upper, and through different closure systems. Nike KD shoes utilize both to provide their players with the ultimate lockdown.

Let’s first start with the upper: materials in the KD shoe that we have mentioned more than once are Nike Flyknit and Flyweave.

Flyknit is a material with a sock-like fit, that Nike specifically engineered to have all the necessary support and durability for sports. The wearer’s foot is secured to the sole thanks to a one-piece upper made from strong, yet lightweight strands of yarn that are woven together. Different types of knit patterns are used in different parts of the shoe - some provide support and a secure feeling, and some are there to enable flexibility and proper ventilation.

Flyweave is similar to Flyknit, with some slight differences - it is also created through a weaving process, but it is far more durable and reliable. Flyweave acts as a second skin and maximizes the foot’s natural motion, and we have already mentioned how it has all the strength of aerospace materials.

Both of these materials provide a secure fit, a support which makes sure that your KD shoe is snug on your foot, and that there is not unnecessary space for sliding around inside.

However, we also listed closures as a key feature in providing a good lockdown.

Nike sneakers all come with lacing systems at the front, which is a standard - there is no solid support and no containment if there are no laces. These have the benefit of being adjusted to a tightness that works best for you and doesn’t come undone so easily.

What is important to mention, though, is how Nike usually adds another element to the closure to enhance that feeling of support. These elements can be special cables on the lateral side, laces which wrap around the entire instep, or even velcro straps which deliver a better lockdown feeling.

Which upper material and which closure system will be the best one for you depends entirely on your play style and your personal preferences, so it would be a good idea to try some of them out first before you commit to a KD shoe model.

Basketball courts can be polished and gleaming or stained and dusty, or anywhere in between. They can be indoor or outdoor, made from different materials and with different qualities. But no matter what surface you find yourself on, you need to stay on your feet at all times. Sliding, skidding, losing your balance or stumbling is simply unacceptable when you have a game to win.

Good grip, ground or court feel - or traction - is essential in basketball. It is a sport where you need to be fast, unpredictable, where you change direction in the blink of an eye to score that point. Your footwear has to be able to keep up with that, and it has to prevent you from falling and injuring yourself.

Nike sneakers are famous for their superior traction, and the KD shoe line is no exception. We have encountered outsoles made from durable, grippy rubber, with all different types of patterns - the honeycomb, the herringbone, the thunderbolt.

Some are better than others - herringbone, for example, has yet to be dethroned as the ultimate outsole pattern - and they all perform differently depending on the type of ground you’re playing on. We have already mentioned how some of the items on our list are good only for clean courts, how some can be used on dusty ones with minimal wiping, while other KD shoes are also great for the outdoors.

These are things that you need to consider before you make your decision - what kind of a player you are, whether you need multi-directional traction or not, and what kind of a court you find yourself most often on. When you take all of that into account, choosing the right outsole and KD shoe for maximum traction shouldn’t be too hard.

You hear it everywhere - footwear with good breathability, materials which promote breathability, no breathability is no good. (We tend to agree with the last one, especially in the case of playing sports.)

Basketball is a demanding sport. You work up a sweat, you’re constantly on the move, you don’t get a minute of rest until you’re back on the bench. Through all of this, it is natural that your feet sweat as well. However, there still needs to be a proper flow of air in and out of your KD shoe.

Sweaty feet which are confined lead to bad odors, itchiness and even unpleasant medical conditions such as bacterial and fungi infections. After all, there is a reason why a fungi disease which causes skin flaking, cracking and redness is called athlete’s foot. Without air circulation and with a poor foot climate, microorganisms breed in hot and damp areas and are just all too happy to cause problems.

This is why breathability is important in your KD shoes - you want your feet to stay healthy, and you want them not to smell when you finally take off your KD shoes at the end of a tiring game.

To achieve that necessary level of ventilation, Nike relies on its materials. Flyknit and Flyweave which we have touched upon before are porous fabrics, those which allow the air to freely pass through, and which don’t stop your skin from breathing. They are largely regarded as one of the most breathable, most unconfining materials currently on the market, and it is no wonder they are widely used in basketball footwear.

Other materials which are also good for breathability are textiles and mesh, which have similar characteristics to all the Fly technologies. There are tiny, almost insignificant differences in all of these choices, and while we are tempted to say that you won’t go wrong no matter what you choose for your next pair of KD shoes- since Nike really knows what it’s doing when it comes to breathability - the best way to find what works for you is through trial and error.

For a high-performance sneaker, it is vital that it fits properly right out of the box. Breaking in should be reduced to a minimum, preferably non-existent, as it takes up way too much time and effort, and you risk developing blisters and abrasions on your skin while waiting for the design to loosen up enough to fit you well.

We talked about Nike Flyknit and Flyweave, and how these uppers are designed to fit like a sock. Indeed, they are snug around your foot, far from too tight, and they move in all the right places, allowing you to be free but also supported at the same time.

One more KD shoe technology that we can bring up here in terms of fit, is the Nike Hyperfuse.

This is a composite material which is comprised of three layers: one for stability, one for breathability and one for durability. These layers are fused together - hence the name of the technology - and the end result is lightweight, breathable footwear with minimal seams that can rub the foot the wrong way.

Hyperfuse is near-perfect when it comes to fit, and you will hardly find a KD shoe which feels better and moves better than one made out of this Nike-specific material.