NBA Stars to have nicknames on back of game jerseys

It might not be “He Hate Me” of the now defunct XFL football league, but the NBA is moving in that direction.

ESPN is reporting that the NBA has approached members of the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets and inquired about which nickname some of the stars would want on the back of their jerseys for one their games. No official announcement has been made from the NBA but the teams have been aware of the discussion for weeks.

Here are some of the choices that the players selected according to ESPN.

"Players were asked to submit what names they would want on the jerseys.Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James is expected to wear “King James.” Heat guard Dwyane Wade would have any number of nicknames to choose from, with “Three” — both his jersey number and championship-ring total — being his current favorite.Brooklyn forward Paul Pierce has been called “The Truth” for many years, and fellow new Nets forward Kevin Garnett has long been known by his initials."

I see this as another transparent way for the NBA to make more money selling jerseys, just think how many “King James” jerseys they will sell alone. I have more of a problem with this because of its “gimmicky” nature being only 1 game out of the year. If they decided to let this be a permanent thing it would look less shady.

I wonder if this will open up the door for some of the other players to circumvent the rules and try to put nicknames on the back of their jerseys on their own. It would be a double standard if they didn’t allow them to do it.