While scarfing down mashed potatoes, turkey and lamb on the couch and watching five of the NBA’s games yesterday, you may have noticed that sleeves were the in-thing. Ten of the teams playing on Wednesday were dressed a little differently. Instead of seeing jacked biceps and triceps on some of your favorite NBA superstars, teams wore sleeved jerseys.
“I thought they were stylish, but not practical,” Brooklyn Nets rookie Mason Plumlee told The Source after donning them in their matinee game against the Chicago Bulls yesterday.
“I felt like I still had my shooting shirt on when I went to check in.”
Knicks guard Beno Udrih shared similar sentiments: “Personally it bothered me and my shot,” Udrih told the Wall Street Journal after yesterday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“On a normal shot, I’m used to getting my shoulder and elbow up [unhindered]. That was my personal feeling. I don’t know how anyone else was feeling.
Adidas, the official maker of the NBA’s on court gear, gave team numbers and lettering on the front of the jerseys the day off. In it’s stead, the fronts of the jerseys were adorned with a “BIG” shiny team logo. Player’s numbers were on the sleeve in the front. The back of the jersey’s still had a players last name and number. As customary with all team jerseys, the NBA logo was still on the front.
Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki tweeted yesterday: Call me old school but these jerseys with sleeves are awful…..
To promote the jerseys, the NBA released a “Jingle Hoops” commercial that featured LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Steve Nash, Stephen Curry and Derrick Rose.
LeBron James had a quiet 19 points, eight rebounds, and four assists yesterday in the Miami Heat’s 101-96 victory over the Kobe Bryant-less LA Lakers at Staples Center. James shot 7-of-14 from the field but according to NBC Sports, James was 6-of-6 at the rim, but just 1-of-8 while shooting from the outside. James stance on the sleeved jerseys was iffy: ”It was definitely a different feeling.” he said.
“Every time I shot it from the free throw line or shot a jumper I felt a little tug, so maybe I’ll go up to another bigger size next time we wear them, or … I’m not going to tell you what the other alternative is, but I definitely felt it for sure.”
Speaking of shooting, perhaps Lakers guard Nick Young should rock out with sleeves every game. They served as a good luck charm. Currently, the Lakers are 20th in the NBA, shooting 44 percent from the field. Young, however scored 20 points off the bench on 7-of-18 shooting in 32 minutes against the Heat yesterday. He added two boards, one assist and four 3-pointers. He scored 11 points in the third quarter while LeBron James was defending him.
Sleeves and shooting went hand in hand in the Spurs/Rockets game last night. James Harden scored 28 points and Dwight Howard had 15 points and 20 rebounds, leading balanced Houston past San Antonio. Each of Houston’s starters Chandler Parsons and Terrence Jones each scored 21 points, and Jeremy Lin had 13 points, eight assists and only one turnover.
The NBA’s “BIG” Jersey trend began last Christmas when teams featured on the NBA’s schedule wore jerseys with bright colors. The Knicks for example wore bright orange jerseys on the court against the Lakers. The ante was upped when teams wore sleeves this Christmas. The Golden State Warriors were Adidas’ test dummy back in February when they were the first team in NBA history to wear sleeved jerseys.
Make sure to tweet #WordsWithScoop to @TheSource and @ScoopB and tell us your favorite Adidas NBA Big Jersey.
