The reaction I’ve seen to Adidas sleeved NBA jerseys have been pretty negative but according to the company it’s quite the contrary.
The jerseys were first revealed and worn by the Golden State Warriors. Since then they were worn by all the teams playing on Christmas and that latest revealed were for the 2014 All-Star game.
Chris Grancio, adidas head of global basketball sports marketing confirmed that the sales of the sleeved alternate jerseys have, to this point, indeed been very strong.
“Terrific,” Grancio told NBCSports.com. “[Sales have] exceeded expectations. We’re very pleased with the results so far, and in our view, based on the way in aggregate players and consumers have reacted to it, it’s been very positive.”
Lebron James is one player who was very vocal about his dislike for the jerseys saying they affect shooting performance.
The majority of players, according to Grancio, say the sleeved jerseys have zero impact on their performance, and that they are a complete non-issue after a very short time.
“Probably the most consistent piece of feedback I hear from players when we go to a team practice and work with the equipment manager, put sizing samples out and they go shoot for a few minutes — the number one thing we hear back is, ‘I forget I’m wearing it,’ ” Grancio said. “With the amount of design work that went into ensuring that this jersey performs identically to a tank, we’ve really delivered that. And when I’ve been in locker rooms talking to players about it, the consensus has been, ‘after I’m out there shooting and playing for 10 or 15 minutes, I forget that it’s different.’ ”
Well as long as the jerseys continue to sell, they’re here to stay.
