NBA Jerseys, Players, Teams, & Schedule 2013: LeBron James Says Teammates "Already Upset" About Christmas Jerseys [WATCH]
LeBron James gets pretty much whatever he wants, but not when it comes to jerseys.
The Miami Heat star and the rest of his teammates will be wearing sleeved jerseys tomorrow in the Christmas Day matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, but according to Heat beat writer Joseph Goodman, LeBron said his teammates are "already upset about" the fact that they will have to wear sleeves over their usually-bare arms and shoulders.
LeBron, speaking as if he was the coach -- and he might as well be called the coach (or the GM or owner) considering his massive influence -- expressed his displeasure with the whole thing. "I can't have my shooters out there worrying about some sleeves and not shooting the ball," he said, according to Goodman.
The holiday uniforms are nothing more than a marketing move by the NBA in an attempt to sell even more jerseys; this is commonly seen across the sporting landscape in other leagues such as the NFL and MLB.
LeBron and others participated in a special "Jingle Hoops" commercial for the NBA Store in which a number of shooters make basket after basket while donning the new, controversial jerseys.
As if the jerseys were not awkward enough, the NBA featured Derrick Rose as one of their models back when they first introduced them. As many people now know, Rose was injured earlier in the season and clearly will not be suiting up on the holiday. However, it should be noted that another key star will indeed be playing on Christmas: Dwight Howard.
At any rate, NBA fans will have a full slate of games to watch on Christmas Day. With all the action starting at noon on the East coast and wrapping up with a late 10:30 p.m. game, nobody has to miss a beat. Below we have provided the full schedule for tomorrow's games:
Chicago Bulls at Brooklyn Nets, Noon
Oklahoma City Thunder at New York Knicks, 2:30 p.m.
Miami Heat at Los Angeles Lakers, 5 p.m.
Houston Rockets at San Antonio Spurs, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors, 10:30 p.m.