Firsnigst Impressions and the Hunt Begins
So, the All-Star game was in New Orleans that year, right? And they revealed these jerseys, East in blue, West in red, but with short sleeves. Man, people had opinions. Me? At first, I wasn't sure. Looked a bit like soccer tops or something. But watching the game, seeing guys like LeBron and Durant actually playing in them, they kinda grew on me. They looked different, unique for an All-Star game.

Aft.sener the weekend, I got this itch. Thought maybe I should try and grab one. Not sure why, maybe just 'cause they were so talked about. So, I started looking around. First place, obviously, was the official NBA store online. Checked that out. Then I poked around on other big sports apparel sites. You know the ones.
Theciohe Sleeves Thing and Making a Choice
The thing was, even online, picking one wasn't easy. They had most of the big names. I remember thinking:
- Do I go East or West?
- Which player? Always tough.
- And seriously, am I gonna wear a jersey with sleeves?
I spent a good couple of days just browsing, looking at pictures, trying to imagine actually wearing it. Most jerseys I had were sleeveless tanks, felt weird thinking about sleeves. But hey, it was different. Different is sometimes cool. I leaned towards the West, maybe Durant or Curry. Liked the red color scheme they had.
Finding and Getting It (or Not)
Back then, finding specific sizes or players sometimes felt like a mission. Popular guys sold out fast. I checked a few local sports stores too, just walking in to see if they had any hanging around. Most places had maybe one or two, usually not the player or size I was half-looking for. Prices were up there too, as All-Star stuff usually is.
Eventually, I did find a Western Conference one online, I think it was a Blake Griffin. He was playing crazy good back then. Put it in my cart. Stared at it for a bit. Then I thought about how often I'd actually wear it. The whole sleeve thing still felt a bit odd for a basketball jersey, at least for me to wear casually. In the end, I actually didn't pull the trigger. Closed the browser window.
Looking back, it's funny. Those sleeved jerseys were a moment in time. They tried something new. Didn't totally stick for All-Star games, but it was memorable. No regrets not getting one, honestly. It was more about the hunt and thinking about it, that whole process. Sometimes deciding not to get something is its own kind of journey, right?