The reason so many female basketballers wear asics netball shoes is because there are very few basketball shoes made for women especially. The asics netball shoes are lighter than mens basketball shoes, but are still a good court shoe and cut higher to prevent ankle injuries. Also they do not restrict the motion anywhere near as much as a brace.

The way I understood it was braces do the damage because of the large amount of restricted motion, meaning alot of stress is moved up to your knees.

Asics actually do a range of female basketball shoes that are almost exactly the same as their netball shoe, (I bought a pair in Japan) as far as I know they are just not sold in australia.

Maybe your surgeon should suggest subsiding ankle tape, as taping still allows some movement while supporting the ankle and preventing major injury. Have you ever noticed most professional basketballers tape rather than wear braces? There is a reason why.

Having worked with braces and tapes for a fair while, the main reason basketballers prefer tape is the cost.
Most clubs provide tape but could not afford to supply braces. Braces should never be shared and the athelete should be fitted for one by a medical professional.

I would be careful about the statement of

braces do the damage because of the large amount of restricted motion, meaning alot of stress is moved up to your knees.

The main reason I personally go tape over braces has been the "difficulty" in dealing with an Adelaide supplier who has to date been very unhelpful in regards to opening times that cater for the "working class".

Sorry I was just speaking from personal experience and from what I have been told by various doctors as a purely amatuer basketballer. I have tried braces and tape, and for me as soon as I put braces on I can feel it in my knees when I am turning and changing direction, and various teammates have complained of the same problem. I admit when braces are fitted properly and made to my needs and running style they would probably be better, so maybe my comments should have clarified the more affordable "one-size-fits-all" type of braces that I was given and see alot of amateurs wearing.

I still think there is a reason why more professional basketballers don't wear braces....I'll have to check the ankles of NBA players next time, if there was anyone who could afford a good pair of braces, even if their club couldn't.........

I find this article to be a good summary of the current science.

http://thecrossovermovement.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/should-basketball-players-wear-ankle-braces/

Basically single leg balance exercise to strengthen the ankle and brace or tape after your ankle has been injured.

I am no xxxxologist but I know one thing.No matter if they design a shoe that is supportive&protective for women or girls if aint trendy it aint selling.

As a GP for over 30 years, I have noticed a trend in these injuries amongst my patients. It is NOT appropriate to blame the show. Sports generally evolve with time, in the case of netball, ashphalt has been replaced with polished timber, concrete etc, and the design of shoes has certainly evolved.
I used to see very frequent, severe abrasions to girls knees, from slipping on the old asphalt/Dunlop combination, now I see very few abrasions and an increasing number of serious knee joint injuries.
What IS needed is a change to the rules to reflect this evolution in equipment.
It is not enough to say to IMPROVE TECHNIQUE. This involves both the thrower and the catcher, with the catcher at risk of injury if the ball is not at the best trajectory.
By simply allowing the player to ROTATE the first grounded foot [the other foot must remained fixed] will almost certainly eliminate almost all of these internal knee injuries.
I would recommend that this rule be applied to all junior levels of the sport. It would be relatively simple to reverse on entering the older age groups.
If we look at rugby union, a colleague of mine, as a then medical student, suggested a change to the packing of rugby scrums and mauls, simply by ensuring that the pack had decreasing numbers in the second and third row of the pack. When applied to the sport, this IMMEDIATELY put a stop to the previously frequent severe neck injuries suffered by players in the front row. It is now an international rule.
We need the same in netball.