What’s Going On With the NBA Nike Jerseys?
Not too many people were as excited about Nike becoming the official jersey sponsor of the National Basketball Association as I was. In middle school, all we wore was jerseys from Monday to Friday. That was back in those Roc-a-Fella, Nelly, and Dipset days for me. So I’ve always had that love for a jersey as a style piece.
Now, bring Nike into the fold. The Ralph Lauren of the sports industry along with the evergrowing popularity of the NBA and you have a match made in heaven, right? Sorry adidas. Scoot over some. Well, you would be right to think this combination is the “perfect fit” until it isn’t. This was on full display on the opening night of the NBA season when LeBron tore his jersey against the Boston Celtics.
Keep in mind that fights and arguments take place almost every night in this league. Nike may have overlooked this fact in their design. “Players debuted the Nike Vapor uniforms that featured high-performance knit jerseys and shorts built with Nike AeroSwift technology. The kit was Nike Basketball’s most advanced to date.” The new technology focused on three areas, movement, thermoregulation, and fit.
However, with the amount of wear and tear basketball players experience in a given game, its caused ripping and tearing of this thinner material. Nike has realized this problem and aims to fix it. Here’s a statement Nike provided yesterday:
“We are very concerned to see any game day tear and are working to implement a solution that involves standardizing the embellishment process and enhancing the seam strength of game day jerseys. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance and we are working with the NBA and teams to avoid this happening in the future.”
Enjoy
