Puma Clyde Court Performance Review

Is Puma's return to basketball with the Clyde Court Disrupt a worthy on-court option?

Puma Clyde Court Disrupt Review
Image via Puma
Puma Clyde Court Disrupt Review

It’s easy to look at Puma’s re-entry into basketball with the Clyde Court with skepticism. After a nearly 20-year hiatus from the hardwood, the brand re-emerged over the summer, tapping Jay Z as a creative consultant and padding its roster with promising yet unproven talent. Then came the new sneaker itself, which took inspiration from a 45-year-old model. Those elements aren’t traditionally associated with performance footwear, yet that’s how the German-based brand chose to break back into the hoops world it abandoned shortly after Vince Carter’s 1999 departure.

Following the initial signing wave of rookies, the brand then snatched up rising star Terry Rozier, veteran Rudy Gay, and most recently All-Star Demarcus Cousins. Those names do offer more name recognition, but do little to inspire confidence that the brand can produce a worthwhile on-court tool. After all, those names are all hired guns that are being paid handsomely to wear the product.

At the same time, though, it’s not as if Puma hasn’t been producing performance product all these years—the brand is among the most popular when it comes to soccer. And there is basketball in the brand’s DNA. The Clyde may be a staple casual model now, but it was originally designed for performance. All that history and success in other sports won’t make a difference though if it can’t be implemented into a modern basketball model. Was Puma able to deliver a product worthy of its aggressive marketing push?

Hover over the dots for a full performance breakdown to find out.

Puma Clyde Court - Fit

Puma Clyde Court - Ankle Support

Puma Clyde Court - Cushioning

Puma Clyde Court - Traction

It’s very possible that the Puma Clyde Court Disrupt is simply a beneficiary of the power of low expectations. There are plenty of excuses out there for the brand’s new flagship basketball shoe to fall short on performance, yet it really didn’t. Whether it’s a just function of those decreased expectations, or a legitimate surprise, I can say that the shoe is not only not bad, but pretty good. In fact, I favor it over models from some of the more established lines available now—particularly Kevin Durant's Nike KD 11.

Still, Clyde Court has its faults. Players who place a priority on impact protection or responsiveness probably won’t find enough of either here when it comes to cushioning. It’s not an ideal big man shoe either, because there’s zero protection in the toe when it comes to defending against abrasion. That’s probably less of a factor in today’s jumpshot heavy basketball climate, but getting your feet stepped on in the post while wearing these (or most sock-based sneakers) is not a fun experience. I will probably never be a believer in this style of sneakers for basketball, but this is among the better attempts at the construction. For Puma, it’s a great first impression for the recently relaunched division—so much so that it will now have positive expectations to live up to on its next model.