The Big Ups is one of Jordan Brands new performance basketball sneakers that released in the second half of 2011 and is tailored for the player who needs major cushioning, comfort, and that literally has, Big Ups. Cushioning is a major player with this design, and stars as one of the key performance indicators on the shoe. Jordan Brand brought in a staple from Nike Basketball folks for this area which resulted in a Max Air 360 unit in the sole. This addition to the shoe definitely payed off as the shoe felt great on the court from heel to toe, baseline to baseline. Another impressive area of the shoe was lockdown. Through my entire time playing in the shoe, not once did I feel like my foot was sliding around, mostly due to the web lacing that extends to the midsole, or that my ankle had the potential to roll over. Though at the same time, the 3/4 asymmetrical collar provided enough room for me to move around freely and make quick cuts. The lock-down, combined with the shoe’s wide outsole make for a nice base.
The one area where I felt challenged with the Big Ups was flexibility. The shoe features a great looking patent leather toe that blends with a lightweight synthetic material and this cross-section proved to be a rigid and less forgiving in the midfoot to toe transition. Towards the end of my review they did start to loosen up a bit, but this was after a considerable amount of play. This would probably be less of an issue for a big man, but for a guard, this may be a point of contention until you break them in. This bring me to durability, which was really a non-issue. All the images you see here are of the shoe after playing a good 10-12 games and as you can see it still looks great. As a performance sneaker, the Big Ups holds up well to the competition and are a worthy addition to any players collection, though they are definitely geared more toward the bigger player.
Often times we are faced with a nicer looking shoe or one that performs well, and the Big Ups cover both areas with the generous Max Air 360 unit and the touches of patent leather on the upper. The Jordan Big Ups is available now in several colorways at select retailers for $150.
