Basketball uniform
{{Short description|Type of uniform worn by basketball players}}
File:FIBA Hall of Fame Alcobendas - 06.jpg
A basketball uniform is a type of uniform worn by basketball players. Basketball uniforms consist of a jersey that features the number and typically the last name of the player on the back, as well as shorts and athletic shoes. Within teams, players wear uniforms representing the team colors; the home team usually wears a lighter-colored uniform, while the visiting team wears a darker-colored uniform.
Different basketball leagues have different specifications for the type of uniform that is allowed on the court. Early in the history of the sport, basketball was played in any type of athletic attire, but by the 1900s, special uniforms were developed and marketed to basketball players. The style, cut, and fit of basketball uniforms evolved throughout subsequent decades, often modeled after the general fashion trends of the day.
History
=Jerseys and shorts=
Originally, basketball was played in any type of athletic attire, ranging from track suits to football uniforms. The first official basketball uniforms, as played in the Spalding catalog of 1901, featured three types of pants: knee-length padded pants, similar to those worn for playing football, as well as shorter pants and knee-length tights. There were two types of suggested jersey, a quarter-length sleeve and a sleeveless version.{{cite book|author=James Naismith|title=Basketball: Its Origin and Development|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDKtaGdhZncC&pg=PA89|year=1941|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|isbn=0-8032-8370-9|pages=89–90}}
The long pants later evolved into medium-length shorts in the 1920s, and by the 1930s, the material used for jerseys changed from heavy wool to the lighter polyester and nylon. In the 1970s and 80s, uniforms became tighter-fitting and shorts were shorter, consistent with the overall fashion trends of these two decades.{{cite book|author=Lucia Raatma|title=The Curious, Captivating, Unusual History of Sports|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6om9avhJfoC&pg=PA13|date=1 January 2012|publisher=Capstone Press|isbn=978-1-4296-7537-6|page=13}} At this time, women's basketball uniforms transitioned from longer-sleeved uniforms to tank-top style jerseys similar to men's basketball uniforms, which more explicitly showed off players' muscle tone.{{cite book|author=Sarah McCullough|title=Construction of the Female Athletic Body: A Study of Women's Sport Uniforms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ojp42Q-ihI4C&pg=PA76|year=2007|isbn=978-0-549-26375-3|pages=76–78}}
File:Jordan Michael signed.jpg
In 1984, Michael Jordan asked for longer shorts and helped popularize the move away from tight, short shorts toward the longer, baggier shorts worn by basketball players today.{{cite book|author=Nate LeBoutillier|title=The Best of Everything Basketball Book|url=https://archive.org/details/bestofeverything0000lebo|url-access=registration|date=1 January 2011|publisher=Capstone|isbn=978-1-4296-5468-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bestofeverything0000lebo/page/58 58]-59}}{{cite book|author=Suzanne Slade|title=The Technology of Basketball|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=otgFCniq8tsC&pg=PA20|date=1 January 2013|publisher=Capstone|isbn=978-1-4296-9956-3|pages=20–21}} Throughout the 1990s, basketball uniforms fell under the influence of hip hop culture, with shorts becoming longer and looser-fitting, team colors brighter, and designs more flashy and suggestive of rappers' bling.{{cite book|author=Jeffrey Lane|title=Under the Boards: The Cultural Revolution in Basketball|url=https://archive.org/details/underboardscultu0000lane|url-access=registration|date=1 December 2007|publisher=U of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-0755-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/underboardscultu0000lane/page/41 41]}}
At the turn of the 21st century, basketball uniforms became even more oversized and loose-fitting; the arm holes in women's basketball jerseys remained smaller than men's, but were wide enough to reveal the players' sports bras.
==Sleeved jersey==
File:John Wall (Celtics at Wizards 1-24-17).jpg and John Wall wearing the newly introduced sleeved basketball jerseys]]
For the Christmas Day games of 2013, the NBA and its apparel partner Adidas introduced a newly designed sleeved jersey with large team and NBA logos on the front.{{cite web|last=Patt|first=Jason|title=NBA Christmas Day uniforms 2013: Teams to wear new sleeved jerseys|url=https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/12/25/5243450/2013-nba-christmas-jerseys|work=SBNation|date=25 December 2013|access-date=25 December 2013}} Marketers for the new uniforms realized that fans were unwilling to wear sleeveless jerseys in their day-to-day life and hoped the new sleeved jerseys would be more popular for everyday wear.{{cite news|last=Holmes|first=Elizabeth|title=NBA Christmas Jerseys—Now With Sleeves|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304243904579195860755097586|work=The Wall Street Journal |date=13 November 2013|access-date=25 December 2013}} However, it was also a "not-so-well-kept secret that the NBA wanted to implement jersey ads in the years following the introduction of sleeved jerseys" as the "sleeves allow more space for potential partners to add their corporate logos to jerseys" like association football (soccer). After the league deal with Adidas expired and Nike signed on as the new apparel partner, the sleeved jersey did not continue.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2017/10/6/16203076/nba-sleeved-jerseys-nike-lebron-james|title=The rise and fall of the NBA's sleeved jerseys|date=6 October 2017}}
The sleeved jersey was controversial among players. LeBron James famously ripped the sleeves off during a prime time game against the New York Knicks in 2015, but in the 2016 NBA Finals James convinced his teammates to wear the sleeved jerseys in Game 5 and again in the title-clinching Game 7.{{cite news|title=Cavs Unveil Three New Alternate Uniforms for 2015-16 Season|url=http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/releases/jersey-announcement-151021|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=NBA.com/Cavaliers|date=October 21, 2015|access-date=October 22, 2015}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.si.com/nba/2016/06/19/nba-finals-game-7-cavs-black-sleeved-jerseys-warriors|title=Cavs wearing sleeved jerseys in Game 7|date=19 June 2016|work=SI.com|access-date=2017-06-17}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2017/06/cavaliers_wearing_black_jersey.html|title=Cavaliers wearing black jerseys for Game 2: 2017 NBA Finals|last=Vardon|first=Joe|date=4 June 2017|work=cleveland.com|access-date=2017-06-17|language=en-US}}{{cite news|title=Cavaliers Logo Suite Evolves to Modernize Look|url=http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/releases/updated-logo-170531|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=NBA.com/Cavaliers|date=May 31, 2017|access-date=June 13, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/look-cavs-unveil-new-logos-add-black-to-color-scheme-before-start-of-nba-finals/|title=LOOK: Cavs unveil new logos, add black to color scheme before start of NBA Finals|last=Boone|first=Kyle|date=1 June 2017|work=CBSSports.com|access-date=2017-06-17|language=en}}
=Shoes=
{{multiple image
|total_width = 350
|image1 = Adidas Conductor High Olympics 1988 re-edition sneakers.jpg
|image2 = Air Jordan XX1.jpg
|footer = Basketball shoes by Adidas (left) and Nike (right)
}}
In 1903, a special basketball shoe with suction cups to prevent slippage was added to the official basketball uniform demonstrated in the Spalding catalog. Over the decades, different shoe brands and styles were popular as basketball shoes: Chuck Taylor All-Stars and Keds in the 1960s and 1970s; Adidas and Nike leather high-tops in the late 1970s and 1980s; and Air Jordans in the 1990s.
Now most athletes wear shoes from the brand they are signed with and some even have their own signature shoes. The first person to have their own signature shoe was Walt "Clyde" Frazier when he teamed up with Puma in 1973. Other brands that have made signature shoes for players include, Under Armour (with their most popular being with Stephen Curry), Reebok (with their most popular being with Shaquille O'Neal), New Balance(with their most popular being with Kawhi Leonard), and Anta(with their most popular being Klay Thompson).{{Cite web |last=Bowers |first=Brendan |title=From Chuck Taylor to LeBron X: Year-by-Year Evolution of NBA Sneakers |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1519230-from-chuck-taylor-to-lebron-x-year-by-year-evolution-of-nba-sneakers |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Bleacher Report |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Dodson |first=Aaron |date=2019-02-05 |title=The forgotten history of Puma basketball |url=https://andscape.com/features/the-forgotten-history-of-puma-basketball/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Andscape |language=en-US}}
=Accessories=
In the 1970s, Slick Watts and Bill Walton began to wear headbands, which soon became popular with other players. Rick Barry popularized wrist-bands, and other players soon created variations, such as bands that covered their forearms or biceps. These were used to wipe off sweat, or simply worn as fashion statements. In 2001, Allen Iverson popularized the arm sleeve, originally used to help his bursitis in his right elbow.{{Cite web |last=Tillery |first=Michael |title=The Allen Iverson Sleeve: How the Philadelphia 76ers star influenced fashion and culture in American sports |url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/the-allen-iverson-sleeve-how-philadelphia-76ers-star-influenced-fashion-culture-american-sports |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=www.sportskeeda.com |language=en-us}}
= Women's =
{{multiple image
|total_width = 350
|image1 = Women basketball team of yukon canada.jpg
|caption1 = Women's team in 1907 wearing wool skirts
|image2 = Italia women national basketball team 1948.jpg
|caption2 = 1948 Italian team with the new polyester and nylon uniforms
}}
In the 19th-century what women wore was controlled by men. When they played women wore floor-length wool skirts. In the '20s they introduced a shorter version of the wool-skirts. In the '30s the movement towards baggy button-able shorts. The '40s and '50s were a huge turning point for women's uniform.
As production became cheaper the wool uniforms were replaced by more functional polyester and nylon's. During this time belted satin shorts were also progressively being used.
Going into the '60s the skirts were starting to disappear and shorts with elastic waistbands were introduced. Finally from 1980 till now women's uniform are now similar to men's. As they began to wear loose longline shorts, and skirts were eliminated entirely.{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Georgina |title=SKIRTS AND THE SLAM DUNK: THE HISTORY OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL UNIFORMS |url=https://www.ambushdesign.com/en-gb/stories/skirts-and-the-slam-dunk-the-history-of-womens-basketball-uniforms |access-date=May 9, 2023}}
Modern day
=United States basketball=
==Rules and regulations==
In professional basketball leagues today, teams playing at home typically wear lighter-colored uniforms than the visiting team.{{cite book|author1=P. J. Harari|author2=Dave Ominsky|title=Basketball Made Simple: A Spectator's Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gtNDH_pR990C&pg=PA10|date=1 October 2002|publisher=First Base Sports, Inc.|isbn=978-1-884309-13-7|page=10}}
The NBA eliminated "home" and "away" uniform designations prior to the {{nbay|2017|app=season}}. Teams' white uniforms were then designated as "Association" uniforms, and their color uniforms were designated as "Icon" uniforms. Teams also unveiled two alternative uniforms, designated as "Statement" and "City" uniforms. Furthermore, the home team is now allowed to wear any uniform color it chooses, while its opponent may wear any color that sufficiently contrasts with the home team's choice.{{cite web |last1=Whitaker |first1=Lang |title=NBA, Nike unveil new uniforms for 2017-18 season |url=http://www.nba.com/article/2017/07/18/nba-nike-new-uniforms |website=NBA.com |access-date=October 15, 2018 |date=July 18, 2017}}
NBA basketball shorts must fall at least 1 inch above the knee, and T-shirts cannot be worn under the jersey – however, they are permitted in American college basketball. Some NBA and WNBA teams have allowed sponsors' logos to appear on their uniforms.{{cite news|last=Sandomir|first=Richard|title=In W.N.B.A., Jersey Sponsorship Could Set New Standard|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/sports/basketball/01wnba.html?_r=0|access-date=25 December 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=31 May 2009}}
==Material==
Uniforms are made of wicking material designed to absorb sweat and ensure that it evaporates faster. They are the product of a four-year study researching professional basketball players, who identified the need for fewer seams, lighter weight, and faster drying and cooling in their jerseys.
=International basketball leagues=
The main difference between U.S. basketball uniforms and those of other countries is the appearance of sponsorship iconography; European basketball uniforms are often covered in the logos of their sponsors (similar to association football), while the U.S. uniforms (like other major U.S. pro sports) feature the team wordmark/logo front and center.{{cite web|last=O'Brien|first=Dan|title=NBA Debate: Should the NBA Put Advertisements on Jerseys?|url=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1124800-nba-debate-should-the-nba-put-advertisements-on-jerseys|work=The Bleacher Report|access-date=25 December 2013}}
For the 2017–18 season, some U.S. teams have started putting sponsorship logos on their jerseys on the upper left of the jersey which is a maximum of 2.5 inches by 2.5 inches.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/26/16036162/nba-jersey-patch-sponsor-tracker-2017-season|title=An ongoing list of every NBA sponsor patch for 2017-18 season|date=26 July 2017}}
= Women's =
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{commons category}}
{{Basketball}}
{{Supporter Culture}}
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