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A measurable change in behavior develops amongst the sneakerheads in the NBA during the first month of each season. Last year around this time, an influx of custom sneakers began to surface on the hardwood and during the 2012-2013 NBA season we spotted some of the most unconventional shoes on the basketball court, such as the Nike Air Yeezy 2 and the adidas JS Streetball. So far this season, we’ve noticed an imbalance in color matching between a number of players’ shoes and their uniforms. Has the NBA loosened up on its on-court dress code or are the players simply ignoring the rules?
On October 18th, 1985, then-NBA commissioner David Stern officially banned Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan I from the NBA courts for failure to meet the on-court dress code. Stern specifically declared that MJ’s shoes did not properly match the Chicago Bulls jerseys. Now, close to 30 years later, the NBA on-court dress code might be as tolerant and mild as it has ever been and with commissioner Adam Silver now in the driver’s seat, this change could potentially be a direct effect of Silver’s tolerance and leniency.
It is also to be noted that the NBA’s new social media hashtag, #NBAKicks, highlights sneakers worn by various NBA players around the league. Perhaps the NBA sees the value of sneaker endorsements to the league and the attention its brings to the game.
If this tolerance level has increased, we should expect to see even more erratic on-court shoe choices from the players. Check out 11 Kicks On Court instances in which matching is nonexistent from this season so far.
Nike KD7 “Easy Money” Colorway: Mystic Green/Light Brown
New York Knicks Primary Colors: Blue and Orange
