Dime is the premier basketball magazine, covering the NBA, NCAA, High School, Playground and International basketball - as well as sneakers, fashion and music.
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BUSINESS GEAR WORDS. Patrick Cassidy Court Grip Changes The Game Mission Athletecare is in the business of creating products that give basketball players an edge on and off the court. Tey made a splash this past season by solving a problem that has plagued basketball players since the dawn of the game. The slippery floor. It is the bane of basket- ball players on all levels around the world. It doesn't matter if you are playing ball in an old church gym or on an NBA court, if you have no traction and are slipping and sliding all over the court-you can't play your game. Mopping the floor or wetting the soles of your kicks just doesn't get the job done - basketball players have been waiting for a century for someone or something to effectively save the day. The wait is over. At some point during the past NBA sea- son, you undoubtedly spotted players ap- plying something that looked like roll-on deodorant to the bottoms of their sneakers before checking into the game. They were applying Court Grip, a brand new product introduced to the basketball world in 2011 designed to give players extra, superb trac- tion once they hit the floor. Since first mak- ing its appearance in gyms and at scoring tables in the League, "gripping" caught on almost immediately among players, to the point where it quickly became a ubiquitous image during every NBA game. Now you can catch Court Grip being used not only in the NBA, but also in college, high school and at pickup courts across the country. So how did Court Grip make such an im- pact on the basketball world so quickly? The first, easy answer is that it works. Re- ally well. Court Grip devotees are every- where in the elite ranks of the game. "Court Grip helps me focus on my game and make my moves confidently without worrying about court conditions," says Dwyane Wade, who has been on board with Court Grip from the beginning. "I am seeing Court Grip really catch on throughout the league," says the Grizzlies' Mike Conley. "Guys in the league are see- ing other guys using it and once they feel the difference it makes, they are hooked." 18 ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES