From LaMelo Ball to Breanna Stewart, Puma offers a growing list of performance basketball lines for a brand that re-entered the sport in 2018. Puma doesn’t stop there, with its cutting-edge performance range of Nitro-tech sneakers adding to a mix of on-court offerings. But how do these lines differ and what are the technologies that define them?

Max Staiger, global head of basketball at Puma, explains that the brand divides the basketball category into three distinct silos: signature lines, peak performance and culture, which can blur the line between style of life and land. But the one common thread that connects Ball and Stewart’s iconic sneakers to the Nitro performance silhouette is more than the Nitro name, it’s the cushioning technology it represents.

Nitro foam is present in a whole range of sports at Puma, but it defines basketball. “In my opinion, from a comfort standpoint, when you initially put this shoe on, the kind of comfort level we provide is probably the best,” Staiger says. “And I think the other thing we see with the Nitro is the longevity of that initial feel. The way we built Nitro, you get it a lot longer, the value carries on a lot further than some of our competitors .”

Puma basketball is constantly tweaking the Nitro for each model, including signatures. The newest in the Nitro lineup is the 2022-23 Season Rise Nitro, released in July, which places foam throughout the midsole. Staiger says the cushioning has been tuned for energy return for both impact and lateral quickness. Nitro cushioning also plays a prominent role in the 2021-22 Fusion Nitro season.

For signature models, the Nitro started in Ball’s MB.01 just in the heel, but the new MB.02, released in October, extends the use of the Nitro to both the forefoot and heel . Stewart’s Stewie 1, launched in September, also includes Nitro foam.

Staiger says the different use of the Nitro across the multiple lines is in volume — including foam thickness for energy return — and placement. “You have to understand where you put it,” he says. “If it’s too far ahead you get nothing and too far behind it won’t work.” Puma’s developers have dissected the sweet spot that allows them to “nail the placement”, in order to decrease bulk for weight loss.

With Nitro, the advanced technology used in Puma basketball, each performance model also features different upper technology. The Fusion Nitro features Fuzionfit, based on the concept of taking a compression band and turning it into an upper, ideally to reduce the amount of material on the foot without losing the locked-in feel. “At the end of the day, it’s about losing weight,” Staiger says. “We aim for the lightest, fastest and fastest shoe possible.” The Fuzionfit comes in a knit upper with variable density and a flex zone to stretch and move.

The Rise Nitro features Pwrtape, basically kinesiology tape for shoes. A single layer upper features zoned resistance zones to give lockdown to the sockliner for stability, but also lateral movement.

With a signature model, the final design should include an athlete’s personal storytelling. That’s why customers are seeing a more traditional upper that combines personal touches and performance materials with added layers. The Stewie 1 emphasizes color, which led Puma to a two-layer neoprene mesh that allows colors to pop through the top layer and tell the Seattle star’s story while ensuring a weight reduction in the performance silhouette.

For outsoles, Staiger says that as an industry, they’ve reached a place where there isn’t much innovation left. If there’s enough ground contact to feel stable on the court and athletes can hear the squeak of rubber on hardwood, designers can use the outsole to tell stories in a mix of tread patterns. design.

Focusing on Nitro technology in performance models also links Puma basketball to racing and training. These connections go beyond cushioning, as Fuzionfit technology is found in football boots and Pwrtape is used in training shoes.

“If we do the technology right,” Staiger says, “that’s the entry point for a consumer.”