Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
Issue link: http://dimemagazine.epubxp.com/i/130678
wanted to debut a system like this since Patrick Ewing entered the league as a gray t-shirt-wearing, shotblocking machine from Georgetown, but never found the right technology. Eighteen months ago, the 360-degree breathable channel at the shoulder was unveiled as a solution. Both adidas and the Warriors believe the uniform is the NBA's future. "I know a lot of guys shoot with t-shirts on during practice. I do myself," rookie guard Harrison Barnes says. "The ft is real easy. It fts like a glove and doesn't restrict your shooting at all. … I think what was different about this uniform is when you play it doesn't wear you down." This is the frst major change to the game since the NBA debuted its brand- new synthetic basketball in 2006, only to repeal it for the leather standard less than halfway through the frst season after players complained about its feel, saying it cut their fngers. So what are the chances adidas succeeds in turning sleeves into a league-wide look, this Bay Area product becoming more iPod and less Zune? All sports are copycats, from plays to fashion (just look at the rise of frameless glasses in locker rooms in the past 12 months). It can be taken to the bank that the sleeves' comfort and ft will be talked about between players the last half of this season and if the Warriors give their public or private approval, other teams will want to test it. As the idea of an outside third party instead 31 of the league offce, the uniforms were worked on for months with feedback from actual players — the people who will ultimately determine its popularity. At the offcial unveiling, Barnes, guard Klay Thompson and others said they were tested in practices for months. In every announcement, the Warriors and adidas have mentioned performance, not fashion, as the reason for the new uniform. Everyone knows it's not that black-and-white though: "look good, play good" has more than a nugget of truth to it. So, watch the Warriors games with the new system closely. If they get a passing grade in both athletics and aesthetics, this look may soon be coming to a team near you.