The triple-double machine. Last year’s MVP. The most savage player on earth – Russell Westbrook just received his very first signature shoe from none other than Jordan brand. Men… It’s about damn time Jordan.

And much like Westbrook’s insanely athletic, inhuman like playing style and his savage personality on & off the court, the Why Not Zer0.1’s just brought us one of the most stupidly crazy silhouettes in the entire history of ball sneakers to highlight & match his beastly identity.

So without any further ado, let’s see if these bad boys are able to deliver some damn mad performance. Welcome to my in-depth Jordan Why Not Zer0.1 REVIEW.

Let’s get it!

 

MAIN SPECS

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WEIGHT: 16.00 oz / 453.5 g

TECH: FULL-LENGTH ZOOM AIR, FLIGHTWEB

TYPE: MID-TOP

COLORWAYS: 1+

FIT: TRUE TO SIZE

RETAIL PRICE: $125

BD RATING: 8.4/10

BEST PLACE TO BUY: FINISH LINE

PERFORMANCE

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MATERIALS

Even though on paper this mesh\fuse combo might seem to be cheap or something taken from a Nike’s team model, any doubts disappear when you actually put them on for the first time. This stuff is simple as it gets, yet again, with the right layering & build; this makes it for a whole different experience. You’re receiving that amazing blend between outstanding comfort & unbeatable containment. That being said, it should now make more sense why the Jordan brand decided to take this route, instead of releasing yet another Flyknit upper.

Rock solid lock-down and containment are the key elements to meet the demands of Russell Westbrook aka Mr. Triple Double. He’s the league’s most tremendous athlete who puts the insanely amount of force in his step and to keep his feet upon lateral movements is a big mission to deal with. That’s where the fuse covering comes in doing its dirty work by keeping his feet completely isolated from any kind of unnecessary move or slip, while performing some crazy stuff.

Now how about this insane-looking heel counter? I saved it for SUPPORT section. So keep reading.

 

CUSHION

The Why Not Zer0.1 (that’s one heel of a name) does feature a new to the game bottom loaded full-length Zoom Air cushion setup within the Phylon carrier. I must say, this was a banger for me. So freaking awesome that I’m even wearing them right now, while writing this performance review. Because WHY NOT?

I thought it would be nice to make a short cushion tooling comparison between the Why Not Zer0.a’s and AJ 32’s as both of these two will probably draw up the biggest part of Jordan’s salary this year (in basketball performance department alone). So let’s take them apart and see what’s inside.

 

Air Jordan 32

Two SEGMENTED Zoom Air units:

• Forefoot UNLOCKED Zoom Air unit – 11 mm. thick
• Heel BOTTOM LOADED Zoom Air unit – 14 mm. thick
  

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Jordan Why Not Zer0.1

Full-length Zoom Air:

• 8 mm. thick
  

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Although the AJ 32 does have a pretty solid advantage as far as the unit thickness goes, the Zer0.1 didn’t feel like it was lacking in cushion department, if compared only the forefoot. Same awesome responsiveness. Same solid impact protection & bounciness. Everything works a charm. Guards are gonna love this setup.

However, the heel section is where that 6 mm. difference is noticeable. Just don’t get me wrong, it still does a solid job by offering you enough impact protection if you do use your heel more often or you’re a big guy. But I would prefer having the bottom loaded Zoom Air unit instead, mainly because it does feel more active & springy to me, automatically adding more impact protection.

 

TRACTION

SUPER tight traction pattern. Translucent rubber. It could only mean dust problems for days, right? For any other shoe it might, but for these bad boys – NO.

The Jordan brand continues this successful run of circular multi-directional traction patterns and this particular implementation might be the best one yet. I’m not even exaggerating man. It didn’t matter what kind of conditions I throw at them, there was only one outcome – STRAIGHT UP GLUE. That’s one hell of a beastly traction.

It really sets the bar how traction supposed to be done, covering you’re every single step, every single tinny move and making you concentrate only in your game.

 

FIT

THE BEST ONE

Again, this isn’t any kind of Flyknit upper or something close to that. But it doesn’t limit from receiving one of the best fit experiences I had for a long period of time. How did they manage to make that happen? I really don’t have a clue. But I know one thing for sure. I’m loving it.

This time around Jordan brand just went HAM making the inner side of the heel so freaking heavily padded that it’s even scary to think how comfy that section was. You slide your foot in, and all of a sudden that perfectly molded heel in tandem with those huge pillows just “swallow” your foot & lock nicely into the foot bed. Sound good, right?

In addition, they did fit me pretty tight laterally at the point where it feels like the shoe becomes your foot’s extension, giving you that awesome contained one-to-one fit and not feeling like your foot is suffocating. My advice for narrow/regular footers would be going true to size. As wide foot owners should be happy going up 1/2 size.

Talking about suffocation, due to the fuse layer the shoe gets SUPER hot after a few games. It’s like a desert in your shoe. Personally, this isn’t a huge deal breaker for me, but for someone else it could be. So I’m just pointing that out for you.

Oh, and one more important thing. Even though they do look pretty damn bulky & heavy in-hand, this doesn’t transfer to their actual performance on the hardwood which is awesome.

 

SUPPORT

Not only this heel counter takes home the biggest heel counter in the business award, but it actually delivers some beastly lockdown as well. No heel slippage. No unwanted lateral movement. NOTHING. Just pure lockdown.

Now, the other crazy part about the shoe’s support would be the midsole itself. As it might sound crazy, these things do not feature a torsional shank or actual outriggers, leaving only Phylon & full-length Zoom Air unit to deal with Westbrook’s force. Yeah. It’s pretty wild.

Of course, Jordan brand knew what they’re doing while constructing this beastly ass midsole, which is completely capable of keeping your ass from lateral movements and making the ride really damn stable, without having any additional backup. Sorry Curry 4… The Why Not Zer0.1 takes the cake with this one.

Much like the same stuff on the ANTA KT3, the ankle strap on the Zer0.1’s is just there for the looks, not making any impact upon containment whatsoever. Even so, it does look fresh with that embossed logo though.

But I’m not done yet. Although the lacing system is hiding under the fuse covering, you still need to tie your laces in order to create a proper fit, leaving me with a question – why the heel you would ever need a toggle? I’ve never used it. It’s basically useless. Oh, sorry… It’s not useless. It’s for the looks. And I’m kind of diggin’ it.

 

OVERALL

Signature sneaker. Jumpman logo. All-around KILLER performance. Outstanding looks. For $125? What’s up with that price cheese Jordan brand? That’s one hell of a steal, man.

The AJ 32’s for $185? Hell no! I’m taking these bad boys instead on any day of the week. Keeping those $ 60 in my pocket or spending on a nice lifestyle pair, like the New Balance 247.

Hands down, the Jordan Why Not Zer0.1 is the best value for the money Jordan basketball sneaker in the market right now. And if you’re looking for a new pair of ball shoes, these are the only ones I would take. No hesitation whatsoever.

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GRAB THEM NOW ON FINISH LINE

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Hope you enjoyed my Performance Review on the JORDAN WHY NOT ZER0.1. Will you be picking them up on February 15th? Let me know!

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to comment down below!