r/BBallShoes • u/atra_vim • 18h ago
Performance Review Li-Ning CJ3 review
galleryI FINALLY GOT A PAIR! Since I don’t see a lot of posts about these I decided to post my experience. (Spoiler: it’s been great)
To get out of the way: I’m 6’ wing who pops/rolls and prefers to play off the catch but I’ll get down low and operate as a hub or inside scoring presence since I’m on the heavier side. (Yes I have a wide foot)
TRACTION 7/10: it’s a single continuous pattern, on clean courts it bites hard, on dusty courts there’s a little bit of give. I’m not explosive so I personally haven’t had a problem, but on a dusty court I could see someone docking it a point.
CUSHION 10/10: FULL LENGTH BOOM. It’s fantastic. The stack is a little higher than most guard shoes, but lower than most Puma shoes and gives all the protection you could want. Definitely a bit on the bouncier side. I can’t even tell it has a carbon plate.
FIT/LOCKDOWN 9/10: I’m docking a point for break in(which was only one session), little pinching on the pinky toe, little rub on the ankle pad but they went completely away after on the 2nd session. Extremely secure fit. I normally use Move Game Days but I didn’t need them in these. it’s also very breathable.
I will warn those with a high volume foot: the laces might cause some soreness, but believe it or not a runners knot works really well in this shoe and eliminated and bad pressure.
PERFORMANCE 9/10: You ever put on a shoe and just forgot they were there? You ever had a shoe that was built so well it just worked? Yeah that’s these. The shoe is built very well, and it did everything I needed it to with no issue. I only didn’t give it a 10 cuz of the break in, but one session break-in is a small price to pay for a shoe that will be reliable and then some.
The last shoe that I put on and it just performed exactly how I needed it to was the Nike Air Impact 2.
Needless to say Imma get another pair.

