With the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat squaring off tonight at Barclays Center on ESPN, make sure to pay attention to the back of each players jersey.
Adidas’ NBA Name Collection jerseys will break tradition by featuring player’s nicknames on the back of their jerseys rather than the usual last names that you’d normally see on their backs. Imagine Ray Allen hitting a deep three from the right corner of the Barclays Center floor. You’ll get a blast from the past after the made three when Allen runs back on defense and J. Shuttlesworth is sprawled on his back. For those tardy to the party, J.Shuttlesworth is short for Jesus Shuttlesworth, the saviour of Brooklyn’s Lincoln High School basketball. Allen played the fictitious character of Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee’s 1998 movie He Got Game movie starring opposite Denzel Washington.
On the Nets side of things, Andrei Kirilenko will pay homage to his Russian roots by wearing Кириленко his last name, on his back. Born in Izhevsk, Russia, Kirilenko began playing basketball at ten years old. He also set history in the late 1997 when he was the youngest player to compete in the Russian Superleague.
Both teams will wear the Adidas NBA Name Collection jerseys four times this season. You can purchase the jerseys online at the NBA Store and if you’re headed to the game tonight, you’ll be able to purchase jerseys at the Adidas Store at the arena.
Here’s the nickname list for the rest of the Brooklyn Nets:
#30 Reggie Evans | Joker
#2 Kevin Garnett | The Big Ticket
#7 Joe Johnson | JJ
# 11 Brook Lopez | Brooklyn
#34 Paul Pierce | Truth
# 1 Mason Plumlee | Plums
#31 Jason Terry | Jet
#8 Deron Williams | D-Will
Here’s the nickname list for the rest of the Miami Heat:
#11 Chris Andersen | Birdman
#50 Joel Anthony | Doc
#31 Shane Battier | Battle
#8 Michael Beasley | B Easy
#1 Chris Bosh | CB
#15 Mario Chalmers | Rio
#30 Norris Cole | Cole Train
#40 Udonis Haslem | UD
#6 LeBron James | King James
#22 James Jones | JJ
#9 Rashard Lewis | Sweet Lew
#21 Roger Mason, Jr. | Moneymase
#20 Greg Oden | G.O.
#3 Dwyane Wade | D. Wade
-Brandon Robinson ( @Scoop B )