NBA, Nike to Quietly Get Rid of Jersey Sleeves?
It seems the NBA might be doing away with jersey sleeves, with Nike taking over the league's contact for player uniforms and apparel. No official announcement has been made about this for now, however.
Adidas first introduced their version of the sleeved jersey through the Golden State Warriors, who first donned on theirs during the 2012–13 season. Since then, other NBA teams have followed suit, with 19 NBA teams eventually coming up with a sleeved jersey variant by the time that last year's season rolled around, according to Business Insider.
As Nike takes over the NBA contract, however, the sports apparel giant looks to have decided to immediately overturn this trend. Sources have reported that Nike has no plans to make sleeved jerseys of their own, as the Wall Street Journal reported as early as January (via Slam).
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Sources shared that sleeves are off the table, at least for the 2017–18 NBA season. Nike's new contract also does away with the "home" and "road" uniform designations, instead coming up with "Association," "Icon" and "Statement" jerseys that teams can freely select from whether visiting or defending their home court.
Sleeved jerseys have been met with mixed reception from both league players and their fans since their introduction in 2013. LeBron James has been a vocal critic initially, as the Cleveland Cavaliers resorted to ripping his uniform's sleeves off in 2015, saying "I can't shoot with these" earlier.
Nike is not only getting rid of sleeved jerseys, they are also insisting on their "swoosh" logo to be prominently placed in the front, with the exception of the Michael Jordan-owned Charlotte Hornets. His team will feature the Nike-Jordan Jumpman brand instead.
The league is also adding advertisement logos to jerseys, in yet another controversial move. So far, about half the teams in the NBA has accepted sponsor patches on their jerseys ahead of the 2017–18 season.
The video below shows the new "connected" jerseys that Nike is selling, as the company adds a few changes to NBA uniform and apparel since taking over from Adidas.
