A shooting sleeve is a piece of apparel that is supposed to help with shooting the basketball, as the name would suggest. While it obviously won’t automatically improve someone’s jumper, some believe that the compression and warmth that the sleeve provides can benefit shooting.
Shooting sleeves were popularized in the NBA by none other than Allen Iverson, who is known not only as a basketball icon but also as a cultural one. On a recent episode of Club Shay Shay, Iverson revealed to Shannon Sharpe that the sleeve started because of an injury and that he loved seeing the shooting sleeve get popular and become a fashion statement. (4:05)
It was an injury, and I had just got surgery on my elbow… Remember the cloth they had in the training room… and I just said “Why don’t y’all make me one?” It started to get so popular and I love it now. I love seeing guys in different sports have them on and some guys wearing don’t even be injured.
Allen Iverson says he made the shooting sleeve popular across all sports
“It started to get so popular and I love it now. I love seeing guys in different sports have them on and some guys wearing don’t even be injured.”
(Via Club Shay Shay) pic.twitter.com/GytSKVl3oa
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 26, 2021
From the images in the NBA Central tweet, we definitely see the sleeve on a lot of prominent athletes in the modern age. Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs is present, and he’s a top-tier quarterback in the NFL. Serena Williams also sports a sleeve, and she’s one of the leading faces of women’s tennis. Last but not least, there’s Tim Anderson of the White Sox, who became a first-time All-Star in the MLB during the 2021 season. We can see Iverson’s influence in their choice to wear a shooting sleeve.
There is no doubt that Allen Iverson has had a profound influence on NBA culture, and he was a trend-setter in many ways. There are many modern athletes who were inspired by Allen Iverson, and he is one of the most recognized players in the history of the NBA.
