NBA to expand short-sleeve audition

[arcane]

The only team I'd like to see wearing the sleeved jerseys is the Celtics, and that's only 'cause they've worn them in the past:

they'll never look that decent when adidas gets their hands on them

[Xist2inspire]

It's certainly debatable how good the sleeved jerseys look from an aesthetic standpoint (I happen to not like them), but I fail to see how it's a bad idea from a business standpoint. I'd be interested to hear how that could even be intelligently argued against.

I just wonder what makes sleeved basketball jerseys any different from regular t-shirts. Is it the fabric, the tighter fit? If so, that defeats the purpose of having sleeves, because it won't make the "casual fan" look any better. Are they supposed to tap into the soccer/football market? If so, then the way the jerseys fit is all wrong. If you change that, then what you get is basically a slightly better-fitting American football jersey........which again, doesn't really "break into a new market" as much as it awkwardly forces itself into one.

I'm not gonna pretend like I'm a huge fan of soccer/football, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I can gather by looking at their jerseys, their jerseys are better suited for casual wear not because of their fit or fabric, but because of their style. There's usually no huge team name or number on the front of the jersey, and it really just looks like a normal shirt until you notice the crest or the number on the back. Jerseys for other sports tend to be louder and more in-your-face by design, whether it's the colors, large numbers and letters, or team logos slapped all over.

Maybe that's why sports jerseys have a funny place when it comes to wearing them in public. Their fit and fabric suggest "exercise/casual," but those kinds of clothing are usually plain and generic. Their style suggests "fashion statement," but that conflicts with the loose-fitting, casual feel of their fit and fabric.

I guess I wonder what other possible reasoning could be behind this other than "poorly conceived cash grab."

[TaylorMade]

I think, X-mas or Noche Latina or something like that got sleeves. Also Pelicans, Suns and Brooklyn and many NCAA teams.

Brooklyn was supposed to be the jump-off team, but they turned them down.

[Fox]

I could see OKC getting sleeved jerseys

[BBTV]

It's certainly debatable how good the sleeved jerseys look from an aesthetic standpoint (I happen to not like them), but I fail to see how it's a bad idea from a business standpoint. I'd be interested to hear how that could even be intelligently argued against.

I just wonder what makes sleeved basketball jerseys any different from regular t-shirts. Is it the fabric, the tighter fit? If so, that defeats the purpose of having sleeves, because it won't make the "casual fan" look any better. Are they supposed to tap into the soccer/football market? If so, then the way the jerseys fit is all wrong. If you change that, then what you get is basically a slightly better-fitting American football jersey........which again, doesn't really "break into a new market" as much as it awkwardly forces itself into one.

I'm not gonna pretend like I'm a huge fan of soccer/football, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I can gather by looking at their jerseys, their jerseys are better suited for casual wear not because of their fit or fabric, but because of their style. There's usually no huge team name or number on the front of the jersey, and it really just looks like a normal shirt until you notice the crest or the number on the back. Jerseys for other sports tend to be louder and more in-your-face by design, whether it's the colors, large numbers and letters, or team logos slapped all over.

Maybe that's why sports jerseys have a funny place when it comes to wearing them in public. Their fit and fabric suggest "exercise/casual," but those kinds of clothing are usually plain and generic. Their style suggests "fashion statement," but that conflicts with the loose-fitting, casual feel of their fit and fabric.

I guess I wonder what other possible reasoning could be behind this other than "poorly conceived cash grab."

As for what makes them different than t-shirts, it's a combination of the materials, the trim, and probably the fit. The mesh or poly or whatever they're made out of just feels more "formal" than a slouchy t-shirt, and the trim and possibly side stripes also make it stand out. There are people who for whatever reason just want to wear jerseys. Now that's usually seen in football or hockey fans, as opposed to basketball fans, so the bet that adidas is making is that the reason it's not as prevalent in basketball fans is that the current uniforms aren't attractive (due to their sleeveless cuts), and not because they just don't want to wear jerseys.

I don't expect the sleeved jerseys to be a hit right away, but after a few fans buy them and wear them to games, a few more will see them and (provided they don't look stupid) wear them, and then it could snowball from there.

I'd bet that they look at jersey sales figures and they're probably not rising (probably not falling either) but are lower than they'd like, so this is a way to expand on the options that fans can buy. Let's face it - basketball jerseys look kinda ridiculous when worn over t-shirts.

[Xist2inspire]

It's certainly debatable how good the sleeved jerseys look from an aesthetic standpoint (I happen to not like them), but I fail to see how it's a bad idea from a business standpoint. I'd be interested to hear how that could even be intelligently argued against.

I just wonder what makes sleeved basketball jerseys any different from regular t-shirts. Is it the fabric, the tighter fit? If so, that defeats the purpose of having sleeves, because it won't make the "casual fan" look any better. Are they supposed to tap into the soccer/football market? If so, then the way the jerseys fit is all wrong. If you change that, then what you get is basically a slightly better-fitting American football jersey........which again, doesn't really "break into a new market" as much as it awkwardly forces itself into one.

I'm not gonna pretend like I'm a huge fan of soccer/football, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I can gather by looking at their jerseys, their jerseys are better suited for casual wear not because of their fit or fabric, but because of their style. There's usually no huge team name or number on the front of the jersey, and it really just looks like a normal shirt until you notice the crest or the number on the back. Jerseys for other sports tend to be louder and more in-your-face by design, whether it's the colors, large numbers and letters, or team logos slapped all over.

Maybe that's why sports jerseys have a funny place when it comes to wearing them in public. Their fit and fabric suggest "exercise/casual," but those kinds of clothing are usually plain and generic. Their style suggests "fashion statement," but that conflicts with the loose-fitting, casual feel of their fit and fabric.

I guess I wonder what other possible reasoning could be behind this other than "poorly conceived cash grab."

As for what makes them different than t-shirts, it's a combination of the materials, the trim, and probably the fit. The mesh or poly or whatever they're made out of just feels more "formal" than a slouchy t-shirt, and the trim and possibly side stripes also make it stand out. There are people who for whatever reason just want to wear jerseys. Now that's usually seen in football or hockey fans, as opposed to basketball fans, so the bet that adidas is making is that the reason it's not as prevalent in basketball fans is that the current uniforms aren't attractive (due to their sleeveless cuts), and not because they just don't want to wear jerseys.

I don't expect the sleeved jerseys to be a hit right away, but after a few fans buy them and wear them to games, a few more will see them and (provided they don't look stupid) wear them, and then it could snowball from there.

I'd bet that they look at jersey sales figures and they're probably not rising (probably not falling either) but are lower than they'd like, so this is a way to expand on the options that fans can buy. Let's face it - basketball jerseys look kinda ridiculous when worn over t-shirts.

Good points, thank you. And yeah, basketball jerseys look terrible over t-shirts...which is why I wear them plain. But, I'm also very finicky over how things fit me nowadays (the few jerseys I have are very good fits), so there.

[Discogod]

I've gotta say, back when I played basketball I always hated playing in any kind of sleeves - I couldn't stand to have excess fabric flapping around (then again, I did wear short shorts up until the millenium...), no matter how fitted the t-shirt was. I bet a lot of NBA players feel the same way, and won't be too happy about having to play with them.

[Coyote]

Crossposting from the NBA 2013-14 changes thread:

The suns will be one of the teams to have an orange short sleeved alternate. Point Guard Kendall Marshall is non to pleased with the news breaking.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/20130620phoenix-suns-makeover-takes-shape-new-logos-uniforms.html?nclick_check=1

[Tynamo]

I don't actually mind sleeves as long as they are the seldom used alternate. I actually think that sleeved jerseys could work (not saying they'll be great though) but all of those we've seen definitely didn't. If they're actually thinking of replacing current jerseys (I hope not) they should at least ease into it and play it safe with the sleeves (NO CAMO!). I wouldn't mind if OKC got a sleeved jersey considering they're current alt. I can't get over the front/side panel inconsistency.

[Bouj]

"We are interested in doing more short-sleeve jerseys when it makes sense," said Patrik Nilsson, president of adidas North America.

In that case, we're done here.

This is no surprise. We knew the Warriors' sleeves transformation from "revolution" to "failure" in record time wouldn't be the last of it.

They'll mandate it on Christmas like they did the BIG color jerseys last year and that will be the end of it. Adidas best chance is to grab a team that's looking for a change of scenery or culture to latch onto this as "their thing." Could be a team on the rise... or a team with a new or rising star. In other words, the Warriors were the perfect team and they threw it back in their faces after 3 games instead of riding it through the playoff run. D.O.A.

Someone said Dwight Howard and Houston. That could work. He likes sleeves, the Rockets should be rising if they get him, and are rumored to be considering changes. But they have to commit.

Also, anyone who spends extra money on a glorified shirsey is not the brightest bulb. But the world is dim...

Where is this Rockets' change rumor coming from? Just curious, I hadn't heard anything about it. I'd heard they're happy with the current scheme.

And I don't see it for Houston, just because it seems like the owner isn't a fan of gimmicky alts. They had a black-for-black's-sake jersey made and ready to use, but abandoned it. The mustard/ketchup colored version of their current jersey isn't really a gimmick alt.

[Delux247]

My guess at the 5 teams wearing them:

Warriors

Suns

Pelicans

Wizards

Sixers

[Rockstar Matt]

The sleeve-basketball jerseys are what I'd expect a rec league team to wear, not a professional basketball team. It looks so ugly. I hope the Lakers don't do it. The ugly-ass Christmas uniforms were enough ugly-ness.

[dbadefense1990]

The sleeve-basketball jerseys are what I'd expect a rec league team to wear, not a professional basketball team. It looks so ugly. I hope the Lakers don't do it. The ugly-ass Christmas uniforms were enough ugly-ness.

Those Lakers Christmas unis reminded me of a can of Monster Energy:

[chakfu]

I'd bet that they look at jersey sales figures and they're probably not rising (probably not falling either) but are lower than they'd like, so this is a way to expand on the options that fans can buy. Let's face it - basketball jerseys look kinda ridiculous when worn over t-shirts.

I would argue that an adult male wearing a sleeveless shirt in public looks more ridiculous.

[worcat]

I don't understand why so many people are this upset over this idea? It's just the progression of the future of the NBA.

Look at the NBA uniforms in the 60's for example compared to today's current uniforms. Everything is different. So extending the short length and widening the shoulders to basically look like a cut off t-shirt is ok?

This is no different than a player like Howard wearing a t shirt under his jersey. Yes, I will agree with those that say they look like Soccer jerseys but it's not a bad thing. The NBA is only using these during certain games, not full time. Eventually I'm sure the NBA will add sponsor logos as well. They will do whatever they want and we will continue to watch the games and love the sport. Not to say we will or won't buy the merchandise tho.

I prefer the current league style but I don't have an issue with this idea at all. It's a marketing and sales goal at the best. Every super die hard fan will run out and buy one to add to their collection. To me it's not different than playing in an Under Armour t shirt.

Basketball is played through the fall and winter anyway, so short sleeved shirts are much more suitable to wear during those times instead of a tank top. Still not 100% appropriate for winter but i'd rather have sleeves than none, and I'm sure it'd be more tolerated for people to wear in public or even at school (Most schools use uniforms, but I'm sure tank tops aren't allowed at any of them now).

The NBA is changing and we have to learn to embrace that. Right now we're comparing all teams to the Warriors design. Who knows, some teams may look really cool with their short sleeved designs. I'm really excited to see what happens.

Or 10 years from now, we may look back on this and laugh like we do at most 90's teams big logo/colorful designs.

[BBTV]

I'd bet that they look at jersey sales figures and they're probably not rising (probably not falling either) but are lower than they'd like, so this is a way to expand on the options that fans can buy. Let's face it - basketball jerseys look kinda ridiculous when worn over t-shirts.

I would argue that an adult male wearing a sleeveless shirt in public looks more ridiculous.

I never said it didn't. Basketball jerseys in general look silly when you're not actually playing basketball. Just saying that wearing over a t shirt doesn't help at all.

[Wilt]

I don't think they will be Christmas uniforms this year. First of all, the rumours are about 5 teams only. Secondly, there should be some design behind those jerseys in order to sell. Moreover, a different jersey template has to be manufactured. That sets them in opposition to last year's Xmas unis that were a 5 minute job that could have been done for any team and dumped after one game.

[chakfu]

I'd bet that they look at jersey sales figures and they're probably not rising (probably not falling either) but are lower than they'd like, so this is a way to expand on the options that fans can buy. Let's face it - basketball jerseys look kinda ridiculous when worn over t-shirts.

I would argue that an adult male wearing a sleeveless shirt in public looks more ridiculous.

I never said it didn't. Basketball jerseys in general look silly when you're not actually playing basketball. Just saying that wearing over a t shirt doesn't help at all.

Enh, I'd argue that it helps a bit. It raises the bar from ugly and immodest to just ugly.

[hjwii]

The way I see it, as an out of shape, rather pale fan, sleeved basketball jerseys mean I can wear the jerseys and not be self conscious... Perhaps this is why I have no basketball jerseys in my collection; I mean, if I can;t wear it, then I'm not going to buy it. But, no doubt, I am in the vast minority here. So, let's hope the Pelicans come up with a nice sleeved jersey... just for me...

[Enio125]

The way I see it, as an out of shape, rather pale fan, sleeved basketball jerseys mean I can wear the jerseys and not be self conscious... Perhaps this is why I have no basketball jerseys in my collection; I mean, if I can;t wear it, then I'm not going to buy it. But, no doubt, I am in the vast minority here. So, let's hope the Pelicans come up with a nice sleeved jersey... just for me...

Can't you just wear a shirt underneath it?