Basketball


Basketball is a high-intensity sport that requires an extreme level of endurance. Players are constantly moving. Between running, jumping, passing, and shooting, just about every muscle in the body is engaged.

From the NBA to high school courts, basketball players at all levels have turned to compression gear to keep them comfortable, secure, and pain-free during and after a game.

Basketball Compression Gear Guides

To help you get started, we’ve constructed a list of all the best compression gear for basketball players looking to take their training and performance to the next level. Explore this guide or check out the full lists of the best compression gear in each category in men’s and women’s clothing.

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Is Compression Gear Good for Basketball?

To perform at their best, basketball players need strength and endurance. They need to protect their muscles from repetitive stress injuries, reduce pain, and boost their recovery times so they can be back on the court ready to go as soon as the next game begins. For these reasons and more, compression gear can be an excellent asset to basketball players at all levels of play. 

Two of the most popular compression items used in basketball are knee and elbow sleeves. Running, jumping, and shooting puts a great deal of stress on the joints. Compression sleeves offer support and stability to prevent tears, bruising, and other injuries while helping reduce chronic pain.  

Just like all athletes, basketball players can also benefit significantly from high-quality compression pants, shorts, and socks. While concrete information on the performance benefits of compression gear is limited, several studies have found that these items have a positive impact on recovery time and delayed onset muscle pain. Compression shorts, pants, and socks have all been shown to shorten muscle recovery time when worn during and after a workout.

A 2011 study, particularly relevant to the use of compression gear in basketball, found that among a group of runners wearing varying levels of compression, those who wore medium and low compression socks during a 10km run were able to preserve their explosive muscle power during the run as compared to those without compression. The result was that the compression group actually improved the height of their vertical jump after their run. The positive implications for basketball players are immense.

Best Men’s Basketball Compression Gear

In addition to performance improvement during a workout or activity, compression clothing helps while recovering from physical exertion.  From improving blood flow to helping alleviate lactic acid buildup, compression can help get you back on your feet sooner than not wearing it.

Best Knee Sleeve for Basketball: McDavid Teflx Leg Sleeves

The length of this sleeve is extended to provide maximum support and better protection to the legs against any abrasions. You’re getting a larger coverage area to help from those light scrapes and bruises you might get from an aggressive pick-up game.

See All of the Best Knee Sleeves

Best Arm Sleeve for Basketball: Copper Compression Elbow Recovery Sleeve

After checking out many compression sleeves, we felt that these particular sleeves had the most significant impact during the recovery process. By that I mean you could feel the compression aspect squeezing and pressing against your skin and you could sort of feel that blood pumping and going throughout your body. Also, it felt like it was massaging your muscles and helping them recover.

See All of the Best Arm Sleeves

Best Men’s Compression Pants: Tesla Men’s Cool Dry Compression Baselayer Pants

I found the stitching in the seams and thickness of the fiber to be much better in regards to thickness and quality to its competitors. If you’re into outdoor activities like hiking, snowboarding, fishing and you’re worried about it not surviving the elements, I think these would be the perfect piece of compression apparel to protect yourself against the weather and hold its own in extreme conditions.

See All of the Best Pants

Best Men’s Compression Shorts: Mava Men’s Compression Short

You can expect both excellent coverage and strong compression on your thighs as you go through each one of your exercises. Also, the nylon/spandex blend feels great against the skin and stretches to conform comfortably to the natural shape of your thighs.

See All of the Best Shorts

Best Men’s Compression Briefs: Adidas Climalite Compression Underwear

Are these the best compression briefs on the market? That question is still up in the air, but what I can tell you is that these compression shorts/underwear are of a high caliber. The lightweight fabric feels great while you’re wearing them for workouts, running, and overall general exercise.

See All of the Best Briefs

Best Men’s Compression Socks: Graduated Compression Socks by Danish Endurance

These socks consist of polyamide (nylon), elastane, and lycra which all-in-all provide a lightweight, breathable material that will hug your legs as you take each stride. I would describe the feeling to be snug and cozy.

See All of the Best Arm Sleeves

Women’s Basketball Compression Gear

Best Knee Sleeve for Basketball: McDavid Teflx Leg Sleeves

The length of this sleeve is extended to provide maximum support and better protection to the legs against any abrasions. You’re getting a larger coverage area to help from those light scrapes and bruises you might get from an aggressive pick-up game.

See All of the Best Knee Sleeves

Best Arm Sleeve for Basketball: Copper Compression Elbow Recovery Sleeve

After checking out many compression sleeves, we felt that these particular sleeves had the most significant impact during the recovery process. By that I mean you could feel the compression aspect squeezing and pressing against your skin and you could sort of feel that blood pumping and going throughout your body. Also, it felt like it was massaging your muscles and helping them recover.

See All of the Best Arm Sleeves

Best Men’s Compression Socks: Graduated Compression Socks by Danish Endurance

These socks consist of polyamide (nylon), elastane, and lycra which all-in-all provide a lightweight, breathable material that will hug your legs as you take each stride. I would describe the feeling to be snug and cozy.

See All of the Best Arm Sleeves

What is Compression Gear?


At the most basic level, compression gear is a category of clothing and other accessories designed to fit tightly around the skin. 

Compression gear has a wide variety of applications including, medical, fitness, and personal uses such as fashion and travel, and continues to grow in popularity as athletes, doctors, patients, and regular people find more creative ways to benefit from these products.

Read our What is Compression Gear? article to get a bigger picture of the role compression gear plays in Fitness, Health, Travel, Fashion, how compression works, and what its benefits are.

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