Remember when LeBron James made it clear that he didn’t like the Cleveland Cavaliers’ sleeved uniforms? It was way back in November, during a game against the New York Knicks, when he made some, um, mid-game alterations to the sleeved areas.
Ahem (h/t Complex Sports):
LeBron didn’t disparage sleeved jerseys after that game, but he didn’t need to. Tearing them to shreds, on camera, did that for him. Plus, he’s also already on record as despising the jersey. As he said in March 2014, when he was still a member of the Miami Heat, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com:
“I’m not making excuses, but I’m not a big fan of the jerseys,” said James, who had 19 points. “Every time I shoot it feels like it’s just pulling right up underneath my arm. I already don’t have much room for error on my jump shot. It’s definitely not a good thing.”
Fast forward to June 13, 2016. The LeBron-led Cavaliers are in the NBA Finals. They are trailing the Golden State Warriors 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, facing elimination at Oracle Arena in Game 5.
And they are wearing sleeved jerseys.
Because LeBron asked them to.
Per Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com:
LeBron James made call to wear black sleeved jerseys, I'm told. J.R. Smith says that jersey symbolizes pride. #Cavs were prideful tonight.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 14, 2016
Sure. This makes…zero sense. But whatever. It worked. The Cavaliers beat the Warriors, LeBron shot 16-of-30 from the floor, and Cleveland lived to fight another game.
Now comes the biggest question in the history of big questions: Will LeBron call the Cavaliers to wear them again in Game 6, or were his armpits just especially chilly on Monday night?
