How to Add Grip to Basketball Shoes: Do's and Don't's - 2023

How Do I Make My Basketball Shoes Have More Grip?

Since this is our main goal, we are constantly looking around the internet to see what is being recommended. More often than not, it just leaves us shaking our heads.

Let's start with the basics!

Traction, or grip, is crucial in good basketball shoes. It enables mobility by providing friction between the court surface and the soles, allowing for quick and powerful strides. The more traction on a basketball shoe, the faster a player can move, giving them a competitive edge in a game that demands quick changes of direction and sudden stops.

The biggest question basketball players ask is, can you add more grip to shoes? Players have tried plenty of solutions and basketball blogs and websites have tried to give players the definite answer but they also give them some pretty terrible advice.

Here are some of our favorites!

1. Wet the soles of the shoes

The first and most accessible was a wet cloth. As you start to lose traction, it's usually from the accumulation of dust on the basketball court. Adding moisture can help soften the rubber soles. Water wares off pretty quickly, then you're in the middle of a game with no wet towel until the next time out, at least.

2. Use Sandpaper to add traction

Yes, there are actually people who recommend this.. The idea is that much like car tires, the grooves on the soles of the basketball shoes are designed to add traction. As the basketball shoes become more worn, they recommend sanding them to expose fresh rubber. Please do not sand down your expensive basketball shoes!

3. Step on a sticky mat

Sticky Mats are definitely the most popular and well known of the options when it comes to improving traction on the basketball shoes. Basketball teams, coaches, and players are familiar with them. Simply step on something sticky, remove the dirt from the shoes and go play. If you ask anyone who's played basketball, they'll tell you that after stepping on a sticky mat, their basketball shoes almost feel worse.

When you step on any sort of adhesive, you're going to build up a sticky residue on the soles of your basketball shoes. After a few possessions, your basketball shoes lose that traction and you have to peel off another sticky sheet. It's just a never ending cycle.

4. Get Creative

If you look around the internet, players love recommending putting hand sanitizer and hair spray on the soles of your basketball shoes to improve the grip. One huge problem, both contain either ethyl or isopropyl alcohol. Both dry out and deteriorate rubber, aka, the soles of your basketball shoes.

Grip Spritz!

Grip Spritz is the first answer to slippery basketball shoes for both basketball teams and players.

Basketball teams and coaches want a quick, easy, long lasting fix. Coaches don't want to have to peel of sheets or find a wet towel. They definitely don't want you spraying hand sanitizer or hair spray on your basketball shoes while they're trying to draw up a play.

Our Grip Spritz Courtside Traction Mat gives all the players game long grip, without having to reapply over and over and without having to constantly tear off and throw away sticky sheets mid game.

Basketball players just want to know that the court they're about to play on isn't a total mess but that can be a guessing game. If your team doesn't have a traction mat, your basketball shoes can suffer from the dusty courts. Grip Spritz created 'traction in a bottle'!

Just like players recommend with hair spray or hand sanitizer except there is not chemicals that will harm the soles of your basketball shoes. Spray it on pregame and your basketball shoes are good to go all game long!