Nike Lebron Witness 7 review

We believe that LeBron James' Witness 7 best suits basketball players who:

• are price-conscious or have a limited budget
• prioritize impact protection over anything else
• love to take their games outdoors, especially on asphalt courts
• look for stylish performance shoes that they can use as lifestyle sneakers 

Players, especially the more agile ones, who love to get a lot of ground feedback may find that the LeBron Witness 7 sits way too high off the ground. For them, we recommend the Lebron NXXT GEN - a little pricier but has a perfect balance of impact protection and court feel.

Being a more affordable option, the LeBron Witness compromised its upper durability. But we've seen even cheaper hoop shoes that did better with abrasion resistance like the Nike Air Max Impact 4 and the UA Lockdown 6.

The Lebron Witness 7 beats breathability records among our lab-tested basketball shoes!

Featuring soft materials, the shoe's upper allowed a good deal of smoke to pass through in our smoke-pumping test. Not only did the smoke get through the tongue and eyelets, but also seeped through the toebox itself. That rarely happens in hoop shoes.

The shoe gets a high score of 4 out of 5 for breathability.

Looking at the toebox fabric through a microscope, we can see that it is tightly woven and yet much more porous than most upper materials.

But there is a big downside to all that airy softness. It's a total lack of wear resistance.

The toebox material failed to hold up to our 12-second Dremel test which resulted in a large see-through tear. On a 1-5 scale where 5 is the most durable, we rated the shoe as low as 1. 

For comparison, the woven upper of the Nike Cosmic Unity 3 did significantly better in the same conditions. But to be fair, it also costs $65 more than the Witness 7.

The shoe's plush and cozy heel padding performed just as badly. After only 4 seconds of holding the Dremel against it, we saw considerable wear.

We had to rate this Nike shoe with yet another low score - 1 out of 5.

Fortunately, the shoe comes back strong in the outsole. This must be the toughest part of the Lebron Witness 7.

Using a durometer to check its rubber hardness, we found that it is a head taller than most basketball shoes on our list.

With a reading of 85.8 HC, it is notably harder than average! And that always implies a more hard-wearing outsole.

The amount of rubber used for the outsole is also quite substantial. We measured it at 4.1 mm which is a solid thickness for a $100 shoe.

Based on its hardness and thickness as well as performance on the court, we can wholeheartedly recommend the Nike Lebron Witness 7 for outdoor play. That also includes the most abrasive concrete courts.

Given that the average weight of LeBron basketball shoes hovers around 14.3 oz (406g), the Lebron Witness 7 is among the lightest in the series. But it's not the lightest compared to other brands.

Tipping the scales at 13.7 oz (387g), the shoe weighs the same as the average of all our lab-tested hoop shoes.

It's pretty impressive that this Nike shoe keeps the weight low despite its massive stack height.

We used a caliper to measure the shoe's heel height and it returned a whopping 34.1 mm! This is by far the tallest shoe in our catalog! This is primarily due to the large Max Air unit embedded into the midsole.

On the court, this Lebron Witness shoe offers top-notch impact protection. All the shock coming from our aggressive heel strikes and harsh landings was sufficiently absorbed, leaving our feet and legs free from pain all throughout the playtest.

The shoe's forefoot is just as generously cushioned. With a caliper measurement of 25.2 mm, this Lebron shoe is a few millimeters taller than average.

Getting up on the toes in this shoe feels very supportive thanks to the forefoot Max Air.

It also turns out that the LeBron Witness 7 has a higher-than-average drop of 9 mm. This is a couple of millimeters higher than the average 7 mm.

The Max Air unit elevates the heel a little more to maximize protection for those heel-dominant strikes. Just like all LeBron shoes, it makes for an excellent option for centers.

The primary cushioning foam of the LeBron Witness 7 feels a little of the firm side. Our durometer shows a reading of 30.3 HA, which is 9% firmer than average.

We found that the firm nature of foam helps to make the platform more stable in lieu of its tall stack height.

On the other hand, the foam layer underneath the Max Air unit is very plush. It creates space for bounce by being extra squishy.

We measured the foam to be as soft as 14.1 HA! That's a whole 115% plusher than the primary cushioning. As a result, the shoe feels perfectly balanced underfoot.

Of course, this highly cushioned hoop shoe from LeBron had to have a very well-padded insole. We measured its thickness at 5 mm, a little cushier than average.

Nike made sure to throw a whole bunch of supportive overlays onto the shoe to really level up its stability.

Overall, we think that the brand succeeded. But if you are an agile and super shifty player, you may want more support around the forefoot. We found that the material was a little too soft to hold the foot in place.

For a firmer foothold, consider the LeBron NXXT GEN.

The platform is rock-solid in the LeBron Witness 7. Attempting to twist the shoe with our hands revealed that it is exceptionally stiff. We rated its torsional rigidity with the highest score of 5/5.

According to Nike, it's the Max Air unit that's responsible for the shoe's lateral stability and it also "helps harness and direct your force." 

The shoe's heel lockdown is very much on point too. We never had to worry about wobbling or heel slippage while wearing the shoe.

The shoe's base is not the widest out there but it does its job well. However, if you are someone who relies heavily on those outriggers on the side, this is not the right shoe.

Measuring the widest part of the forefoot, we got 110.5 mm - a little narrower than average.

In the widest part of the heel, we also found it to be a few millimeters narrower than average at 86.3 mm.

When it comes to the shoe's stiffness, the LeBron Witness 7 is not that much different from the rest of our tested basketball shoes.

It took about as much force to bend the shoe to a 90-degree angle as it takes on average. Our force gauge shows that it required 38.8N, only 8% less than the average.

The Nike LeBron Witness 7 showed phenomenal traction on the court! The multi-directional pattern on the sole was able to pull off quick stops and swift direction changes throughout our field tests.

With the soft and slightly stretchy nature of the upper material, it feels like this Nike shoe offers a little more wiggle room.

In the widest part of the forefoot, we measured the Witness 7 at 103.1 mm - that's about 3 mm wider than average!

Repeating the measurement in the shoe's big-toe area, however, we got 76.5 mm - this is the same width as the average. It indicates that the toebox doesn't taper more than usual in this shoe.

Given the shoe's budget-friendly price point, a gusseted tongue is not to be expected here. But the standard non-attached tongue of the Witness 7 is still doing a pretty good job of staying in place and holding the foot.

The tongue is sufficiently padded on this LeBron shoe. Based on our caliper measurement, it is 9 mm thick. About the same as the average.

A fabric finger loop at the back helps with getting the shoe on with less effort. It also adds a stylish flair to the overall look of the Witness 7.

The shoe's insole is easily removable. It can be replaced with a custom insert is needed.