San Antonio – The past few weeks have been good ones for big and tall clothiers in NBA cities, according to anecdotal evidence provided by the Nuggets during the first day of the league’s new dress code.
Several Denver players said they bought new clothes to comply with the rules. Sporting “dress” jeans that are legal under the guidelines, Earl Boykins said everything he wore to the SBC Center on Tuesday night was new. Earl Watson said he loaded up on new shirts and shoes, while Andre Miller said a collared shirt was the only difference in his wardrobe.
Rookies Julius Hodge and Linas Kleiza said they had to do some last-minute shopping. Kleiza said he bought one suit off the rack and has a few more customized suits on the way. When he heard New York’s Stephon Marbury had a sponsor fit each Knick with a suit, Kleiza joked he wished someone would do that in Denver.
Hodge already had a suit from draft night, but said, “I don’t think I’m going to use that in the rotation.”
A few Nuggets polled said guard Greg Buckner would be the sharpest member of the team’s traveling party.
“That’s a good prediction,” Buckner said. “That’s not too hard on this team.”
NBA commissioner David Stern, in San Antonio to present the Spurs with their championship rings, again played down the controversy, saying most players already own jeans, shoes and polo shirts, all allowable.
“We have 450 players,” he said. “Maybe a dozen have made comments. It’s no big deal.”
Footnotes
Nuggets assistant coach Scott Brooks, on his first game subbing for the suspended Karl: “Even as a player, as soon as the tip comes off, the nervousness goes away. There’s no doubt I was nervous and excited. I had all kinds of fun emotions. The players were razzing me the last couple weeks, so I had those issues to deal with. But I don’t like to lose. I’ve never been one to make complaints about losing.” … The Nuggets will have the same three captains as last season – Andre Miller, Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin.
