NBA Banning Tights

League and team sources have told ESPN.com that the NBA, starting next season, intends to ban the tights sported at various points this season by several players, including three MVP candidates: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Players who wish to wear tights are required to send the league a written request from a team doctor detailing a "medical need" for the leggings. That's because the league, according to sources, believes that some players are merely wearing them because they like the look.

More than five percent of the league's players have worn tights at some stage during the season, including five of its top 10 leading scorers. At least eight players that have worn tights this year -- including Bryant, James, Redd and Carter -- are Nike-sponsored athletes, and the shoe giant now sells a "pro basic" pair of tights for $35 and a "pro thermal" pair for $50.

SEATTLE - When 37-year-old veteran Toni Kukoc showed up for a game last week at Staples Center wearing full-length tights under his basketball shorts, the argument could be made that the Kobe Bryant-inspired craze had gone too far.
Apparently, the NBA agreed, deciding to ban for next season the tights that Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and others have worn this season, according to an ESPN.com report.

Bryant stopped wearing the tights two weeks ago when the tendinitis in his right knee returned, opting instead for a brace. He saw the report about the NBA's ban, though, and said he never was out to make a fashion statement.

"It's silly to me," Bryant said. "I use them for leg warmth. It's something that we use for the game itself."

Bryant also thought back to the NBA's decision to ban the compression shirts he wore under his jersey a couple of seasons ago. Bryant additionally wears a Nike brand of the tights; Devean George questioned if the NBA was just waiting to sell its own brand.

The NBA will require players who want to wear the tights to have a team doctor send a written request to the league detailing a "medical need," the report said.

As for the popularity of the tights - which Bryant prefers to call leg sleeves - the superstar guard said the reason is simple.

"Obviously, they saw me wearing them," Bryant said. "I'm wearing them for a reason. I think guys whose legs might get a little stiff throughout the course of the game might have tried them out in practice and saw that they actually work. They feel good."