Many remember the instance of LeBron giving a big middle finger to the NBA and their sleeved jerseys which by LeBron’s account are hard to shoot in when back in November he literally ripped the sleeves out mid-game.
LeBron James just ripped his t shirt after missing a shot. pic.twitter.com/L6W3OZtJRu
— Bryan Barker (@Bryan_Barker92) November 5, 2015
Those sleeved jerseys made a comeback for Game 5 in Oakland where the Cavs saved their series sporting them. As expected, they’re back for Game 6, in a dubbed “blackout” in Cleveland to try and keep the good luck mojo going.
But it wasn’t the easiest thing to get James to wear them for another game, especially a finals game. LeBron reportedly has a seamstress who alters his sleeves so that he’s more able to shoot in them.
ESPN has the story of why Cavaliers director team operations Mark Cashman went with the black jerseys — the team was 5-1 in the sleeved versions before Game 5. Plus, James’s problems with the shoulders had been fixed:
Cashman called up a friend of his, Becky Zielinski, who works as a seamstress for the Cleveland Browns, and asked her to look into making some alterations on James’ jersey. She had experience over the years with quarterbacks who preferred to wear tight-fitting uniforms while having a looser fit around the shoulders and armpits to provide them greater range of motion to make throws. She made the same alterations for James.
I didn’t even think about whether NFL teams employed seamstresses, but that’s a pretty cool fact. If the Cavaliers sweep the rest of the way — they won’t be able to wear the unis until Game 7 if they make it that far since “the NBA does not allow the home team to wear a dark-colored uniform” during the Finals — does she get a ring?
