A basketball player must get the best knee brace for basketball. In some cases, they can opt for knee pads and compression sleeves.
Basketball is a game that requires the player to immensely using the knee joint. It requires a lot of jumping and running. These activities put a lot of pressure on the knee joint and can lead to injury if not protected.
These knee wears are essential to protect the player from suffering a knee injury. No player wants to be out of action for a limited time, not to talk of a long time. It is then imperative to stay protected by getting the best knee support.
In this article, we list the best knee brace and compression sleeve that is suitable for stabilising the knee joint of a basketball player.
We are quite sure that they will give the best stability that is capable of shielding you from sustaining knee injuries that are most common to a basketball player.
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Most common Basketball Knee Injuries
Basketball is a game of strength, stamina, and endurance particularly on the knee joint. This is because; the players undergo a lot of stressful activities.
They run and cover kilometres on the court, they also jump as high as possible to give a perfect shot and landing heavily on the ground.
All these activities put the knee joints in some situations and there are some knee injuries common to most basketball players. They include:
- Knee sprain and strain
- Patellar tendonitis: best knee brace for patellar tendonitis
- Ligament tear
- Meniscus tear
- Jumper’s knee
OVERALL BEST KNEE PROTECTIVE WEAR
| Product Picture | Product Name | Remark | Price |
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Bauerfeind GenuTrain NBA Medical Compression | Overall Best knee compression sleeve for basketball | Check Price |
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Hinged Knee Brace: Shock Doctor Maximum Support | Overall Best knee brace for basketball | Check Price |
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McDavid Hex Knee Pads | Overall Best knee pad for basketball | Check Price |
OVERALL BEST COMPRESSION SLEEVE FOR BASKETBALL: Bauerfeind GenuTrain NBA Knee Brace – Basketball Support with Medical Compression – Sleeve Design with Patella Pad Gel Ring for Pain Relief & Stabilization
The best knee support for basketball must not be the type that can limit your movement. This compression sleeve will give the best support to your knee.
Medical compression sleeves are not adjustable, unlike knee brace. You must pick the right size that will fit your knee perfectly.
The compression sleeve is designed with knit materials that contour to your knee and requires proper sizing for a correct and valid fit.
There are seven sizes available – XS to XXL. You must check the sizing chart on the order page to correctly choose the right size.
The medical-grade compression is incorporated throughout the genutrain NBA knee brace for medical & performance effects.
It improves blood circulation and oxygenates the muscles, thereby helping recovery and endurance on the court. It is by far the best knee brace for basketball.
Basketball is a game that requires more stability of the knee joint due to rigorous running and jumping. The GenuTrain NBA Knee Brace effectively stabilises the knee area utilising medical-grade compression.
The lateral spiral stays, a viscoelastic patella gel pad and elastic comfort bands to keep the knee sleeve in place, eliminating the need for bulky and uncomfortable straps.
GenuTrain compression sleeve is widely used by basketball players and is the preferred solution of the NBATA (National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association).
It also relieves pain like jumper’s knee/patellar tendonitis, sore knees, pain, instability and arthritis. We strongly recommend this knee sleeve, and it’s out overall best knee brace for basketball.
See also: Best unloader knee brace
OVERALL BEST KNEE BRACE FOR BASKETBALL – Hinged Knee Brace: Shock Doctor Maximum Support Compression Knee Brace
The knee brace is specially made to cater for your knee and give perfect stability to your knee joint. Getting injured during a game is very typical. It does not mean you didn’t protect yourself enough, so you need the best knee brace to stabilise your knee for faster recovery.
It is made in different sizes. From small size to xxx-large to allow you to choose the best fit for your knee. It does not only prevent knee injuries, but it also ensures you are healed faster.
To boost the wearer’s comfort, it is strategically built with antimicrobial and airflow vented tech. This reduces odour, bacteria, and moisture so that you can stay comfortable.
Its massive dual hinges ensure stability and prevent sideways movement of the knee joint. This allows you to move comfortably with its four-way stretch spandex [elastane] mesh and pre-curved anatomical design.
The knee brace smartly converts to both right and left knee. It is made with premium material, latex-free and premium, stitching.
It gives the best stability among its pair, and we strongly recommend the knee brace.
OVERALL BEST KNEE PADS – McDavid Hex Knee Pads Compression Leg Sleeve for Basketball
We find this knee pad to be the best for protection against impact or collision. It protects the knee from high impact in a contact sport like basketball.
It hugs the knee tightly to stabilise the knee joint while the soft foam padding absorbs shock from impact perfectly.
The sleeve is 9mm in thickness, and it is popular among athletes due to its reliability and durability. The knee pad has its sleeve extended to the leg region. This protects the leg from cuts and scrapes.
It stays in one place when you wear it. The non-slip material enables its perfect fit; it stays in place and will not chafe.
You need your confidence again and knowing you are protected will boost that confidence for your game. We strongly recommend this knee pad for every pro and amateur basketball player.
Why do basketball players wear knee protection gear on their knee?
It is straightforward; a basketball player needs to wear knee brace, sleeve or kneepad just for protection. Getting the best knee brace for basketball help with a lot of things which we highlight below:
- It absorbs impact vibration resulting from a collision, falling on the court and jumping and landing.
- Basketball put a lot of burden on the knee joint. A knee brace helps reduces intense pain associated with this.
- It also helps stabilises the knee and prevent injuries like ACL and meniscus tear, PCL, LCL, and patella tendonitis, among other knee injuries.
- Also, it can prevent bruises from a collision.
How to choose the best basketball knee protection gear
To determine the best protection where for your knee if you are a basketball player, some factors can serve as a guide in your selection.
What do you need? Knee brace, compression sleeve or knee pads?
It is essential to know when and which to buy for a particular situation. This will help you settle on what you want before thinking about getting the best of it.
Knee Braces
Knee braces are essential in stabilizing the knee joint. Thus makes it suitable for protection against injury and also helps prevent the worsening of an already sustained damage. This helps the confidence of the recovering basketball player.
Knee brace also has hinges and some other features that give external support to the knee joint. It stabilizes the knee cap and ensures all knee components stay ideally in place.
Knee brace prevents irregular movement of the knee, thereby ensuring the injury does not worsen.
Compression Sleeves
Compression sleeves are always tight around the knee. They are tight and flexible. They are not as strong as a knee brace. Knee compression sleeves provide a blood flow increase. This helps recovery after a basketball game.
Knee compression sleeve also reduces knee pain sustained after the game and also prevents knee injuries. Compression sleeves are not as strong as knee brace and may not be suitable for severe knee injuries.
Knee Pads
Knee pads are made like compression sleeves, but the difference is that it has padding around the knee cap, which absorbs impact from opposition players.
It is mostly used by basketball players and gives a sense of security to the player.
Knee Braces vs Knee Compression Sleeves vs Knee pads. Which should I get?
Most time, we have had a lot of complains arising from uncertainty about which to get between knee brace, compression sleeve, and knee pads.
You must know what condition you are in. That will determine which to go for between the three knees protective wear.
When you have massive injuries like the ACL tear, meniscus tear, MCL, PCL and other painful knee injuries, it is good to opt for a knee brace.
The compression sleeve is required when you need a little more stability. It gives you that extra stability needed to stay firm and fit.
Knee pads work more like a shock absorber. It prevents knee contusion, which occurs as a result of frequent banging of the knee. It is mostly needed during the game because you tend to collide more with an opponent.
Other Top Knee Brace Suitable for Basketball
EXOUS Knee Brace Support Protector
Exous knee brace is one of the best knee brace suitable for stabilizing knee joint when recovering from any knee injury.
Exous knee brace provides the best support and protection along with maximum comfort. It has lot of qualities that ensure comfort of the user.
It’s unique four-way compression system hugs the knee from every angle. This gives lateral and medial support and a sense of real stability for weak knees.
The two patella stabilizing straps give patella tendon and jumpers knee pain relief and help stabilize the knee cap.
The knee brace stays perfectly in one place. You will never have to keep adjusting and readjusting. Furthermore, the material used is a high-quality one. It is soft, breathable, removes excess heat and moisture to keep the skin fresh always.
Unlike other knee braces with two or three straps, it has four to ensure a perfect fit and high protection.
The knee brace is one of the best knee braces for basketball and we strongly recommend it to stabilize the knee when nursing any knee injury.
McDavid Knee Brace, Maximum Knee Support & Compression
We like the comfort the knee brace provides. There is nothing like irritation of the skin or uneasiness when you wear the knee brace.
It is latex-free, made with neoprene which is soft and gentle on the skin but strong enough to stabilize your knee against worsening of an injury.
The sidearm is independently articulated with cushion. This eradicates sideways movement of the knee. It keeps the knee joint in a position it supposed to be to enhance faster rehabilitation.
Its engineered straps assure personalized fit as you can easily adjust it to what you want according to your knee size.
The knee brace is made in different sizes. It is important to pick the best fit for your knee joint.
The bound edges prevent skin irritation. It is perforated at the back to provide heat and moisture management for all-around comfort.
Support-n-Brace Knee Brace + Bonus Compression Knee Sleeve Pads
This knee brace is suitable for athletes that are into running, basketball, volleyball, weightlifting, Crossfit, football, tennis, baseball, mountain biking, soccer, hiking, and cycling.
The knee brace is made with quality material, soft breathable neoprene. The knee brace wraps around the leg and knee.
Then, use the flexible stabilizing Velcro straps to adjust the tightness to your desired level of comfort and to the level of stability needed.
For perfect support and stability, it has four ultra-strong elastic springs and two stabilizers on each side of your knee to help with stabilization.
The knee brace is very easy to put on and adjust. The straps are also easy to adjust and no complicated straps to fumble with while getting the brace into the correct position.
When you make an order, it comes with a bonus compression sleeve. You can wear the compression sleeve separately or together with the knee brace for even more stability.
It is overall a good knee brace and one of the best knee brace for basketball.
Read also: Plantar fasciitis support brace
Other Top Compression Sleeve for Basketball
UFlex Athletics Knee Compression Sleeve Support
UFlex Athletics combined the newest technology with the highest quality materials to produce the ultimate Knee Compression Sleeve Support.
This is one of the best and top compression sleeves in the market and it is suitable for sports like running, basketball, soccer, football, golf, cycling, tennis, hiking, volleyball, skiing and other contact sports.
It tightly hugs the leg, especially the knee region and Reduces inflammation/swelling, soreness, and stiffness. Its heating enhances faster muscular recovery.
Its anti-slip silicone makes is suitable for stable compression during gym time, squats, weightlifting, yoga, and fitness.
There are four sizes available – small, medium, large and x-large.
The Knee Sleeve provides pain relief and moderate support in minor or incipient knee illnesses and protects the knee from future injury or risk of damage.
It is widely used with over 9000 reviews on Amazon. The positive customer’s reviews affirm its qualities. It has a rating of 4.6 of 5.0.
It is one of the knee compression sleeves we can affirm its qualities and we strongly recommend it for basketball players.
Knee Brace Compression Sleeve with Strap for Best Support & Pain Relief by Athledict
On the order page, there is a sizing chart which it’s recommended that you carefully check before picking any size.
The knee brace has an anatomical shape that will give you better support, stability and pain relief which targets exactly spots you need to move with more confidence and less pain.
For additional compression, it has straps which make it a unique compression sleeve, unlike others.
The knee sleeve will not slip down, so no stress of having to readjust when using it.
Its new anti-slip silicone design, anatomical shape of the sleeve, adjustable and removable strap enables you to customize compression to your needs.
To give you buying confidence, the knee sleeve comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. Its either you love the knee sleeve or you get a refund of your money back.
We are quite sure of its effectiveness and its one of the best knee sleeves we recommend for basketball players for protection and stability.
POWERLIX Compression Knee Sleeve
When you need a compression sleeve that applies stable pressure across your knee joint, then you might want to consider POWERLIX compression knee sleeve.
It offers optimal muscle support between workouts and during casual everyday activities. With this sleeve, you will be able to tackle any activity life throws your way, while ensuring you’re a step ahead in injury prevention.
The knee support is perfect for any activity that involves a great amount of stress on the joints like, baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, gym, hiking, running, tennis, volleyball and other contact sport.
The design is top-notch. Its special knitted technical design with two silicone gel strips ensures your sleeve stays put always, no matter how rigorous the activity might be.
There are five sizes to choose from and it is made in two colours – black and blue, so you pick according to your color preference.
It is made with quality material, tight and breathable compression fabric maintains joint stability regardless of activity while avoiding the itchiness common to other supports.
Powerlix is recommended as one of the best knee compression sleeves and it is very suitable for basketball.
TechWare Pro Knee Compression Sleeve
Apart from giving the best compression, this sleeve also has an added advantage of stabilizing the patella with its patella gel pads that adds extra support and compression to the knee area for pain relief help and injury recovery.
It is breathable and made with soft a fabric that is gentle on the skin for perfect comfort. It is a suitable sleeve for Crossfit, tennis, cycling volleyball, yoga, squats, baseball, runners, dance, exercising and other fitness sports.
The side stabilizer spring also ensures high stability and protection.
Also, it is ideal for everyday use for meniscus tears, ACL, PCL, MCL injuries, swelling, arthritis, bursitis, and tendonitis and post-surgery protection. Also prevents injuries and reduces inflammation.
It also has a 100% money-back guarantee. It gives you the confidence needed to make the purchase. So, it’s either you like the product or you get your money back 100%
Techware pro knee compression sleeve is one of the best we recommend for every basketball players.
Other Top Knee Pads for Basketball
Bodyprox Protective Knee Pads
Thick Sponge Anti-Slip, Collision Avoidance Knee Sleeve. The knee pad is made in pair, it can be worn by both male and female.
There are two sizes available – small/medium and large size. Be sure to check the sizing chart to correctly pick.
It is made with good elasticity fabrics – the fabric is breathable and keeps the skin dry and more comfortable. The kneepad region made with high-density strengthens foam to absorb impact from a collision.
It is super light in weight and allows freedom of movement. It is very ideal for knee protection and a good one for basketball players.
The knee pads are cushioned to perfection to let you work or play without hesitation from falls or unsuspecting impacts that may affect that way you move.
ASICS Ace Low Profile Knee Pad
ASICS Ace is also one of the best knee pads. It is very good at protecting the knee by absorbing even the biggest impact on the knee.
It is made with a combination of 43% Cotton, 33% Rubber, and 24% Nylon. It is 14 inches wide.
The knee pad is one of the most bought on Amazon and it has great number of positive feedback from customers to show how lovely the knee pad has been.
It does not discomfort you. The material is breathable and anti-odour to keep your skin fresh always.
It is also made in pair. You will get both right and left legs when you make your order.
It is one of the best knee pads suitable for basketball and we recommend it.
JYSW Knee Pads
This is one of the best knee pads. A nicely stitched knee pad to serve you for a very long period of time.
Its soft lining and durable EVA foam padding cushion make your knees work for hours. The fabric is elastic and flexible to provide supreme comfort during every activity.
It is quite different from your regular knee pad because it also has adjustable straps which are firmly fixed with strong Velcro.
The Knee pads won’t slip, roll, mark or damage the surfaces when working or flooring installation projects. It is also used for dancing, volleyball, basketball, and football activities.
It will not hold your movement back. It is light in weight and provides more freedom of movement while still keeping you safe and secure.
The high-density and durable foam knee pads were designed to withstand rocks, rubble, and moisture, so the knees pads won’t deteriorate.
It is easy to wash and it dries quickly for re-use.
See also: Best knee pad for wrestling
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you play basketball with a knee brace?
YES! Knee brace gives added stability and prevents injury to the knee joint
Does wearing a knee brace weaken the knee?
NO! It only acts as external support to improve performance.
Check: Best exercises to strengthen a weak knee
What knee pads do NBA players wear?
We recommend every knee pads on our article. We researched well before selecting them and we are confident in their abilities.
How tight should a knee brace be?
This depends on the level of support you need and how comfortable you feel with a particular tightness level.
Why Do Most Basketball Players are Wearing Leg Sleeves?
It improves blood flow and circulation. It also helps prevent injury by enhancing much stability of the player.
Final Words
Getting the best knee brace for basketball is important for all basketball players. Knee braces are often used more during rehabilitation to enhance faster recovery and to prevent further worsening of the knee injury.
Knee sleeve gives great stability, though not up to the level of a knee brace. The best knee sleeves/compression sleeves should be considered if the injury is not too severe. It can also serve as protection.
We recommend knee pads to help you absorb vibration arising from impact with another player or fall. It protects the knee cap and also prevents injury.
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