Why Do Basketball Players Wear Arm Sleeves?

Unlike athletes in other league sports, basketball players can do a lot of accessorizing. They don protective masks, headbands, knee pads, and more. One addition that causes a little confusion: skintight arm sleeves, which are often worn on just one arm. Why do NBA and NCAA players seem to favor them?

For some, it comes down to a belief it makes them a better shooter.

1. Allen Iverson’s Influence
2. A Trendy Accessory
3. More Than a Performance Enhancer

Allen Iverson’s Influence

Arm sleeves, also known as compression sleeves, shooter sleeves, or compression stockinettes, are a constrictive type of fabric made of nylon and spandex that is intended to be a kind of performance enhancer. By improving blood flow, the sleeves can theoretically reduce inflammation, prevent injury, and hasten recovery by increasing oxygenated blood and reducing build-up of lactic acid.

The concept itself is nothing new—compression stockings are worn on legs to prevent blood clotting in people susceptible to deep vein thrombosis—but it didn’t begin to take hold in the NBA until 2001. That’s when Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson was given a compression sleeve by team trainer Lenny Currier to help protect his elbow, which had developed bursitis.

Currier only intended to help Iverson delay needed surgery. What he didn’t expect was for Iverson to score 51 points in the first game he played wearing the sleeve, which wound up putting the 76ers in the NBA Finals.

“We used the stockinette to help Allen get through sore days,” Currier told The New Yorker in 2014. “But as you know with Allen, once the other players started seeing him wearing it, they all followed his lead.”

A Trendy Accessory

The sleeve quickly became ubiquitous throughout the league, with players hoping they might mimic Iverson’s impressive shooting performance. (He averaged 35 points that season.) After some makeshift sleeves popped up, companies like Under Armour and Nike began manufacturing a variety of sleeves in different colors. Players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James built on the trend by wearing leg sleeves. Others believe the sleeves can help keep their shooting arm warm while resting on the bench, and some like the fact the sleeve can keep them from getting their skin cut when an opposing player drags their fingernails across the arm.

Whether a player is injured or not doesn’t appear to make much difference. If they are, the sleeve may help prevent it from getting worse. If they aren’t, it may help prevent swelling and offer some measure of protection.

More Than a Performance Enhancer

But like a lot of elements in sports, it can be difficult to separate placebo from performance. Research on arm sleeves offers only mixed impressions. One 2022 study focused on climbing found no measurable effect on hand strength or endurance.

Then again, some players might wear the sleeve for other reasons. Retired Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade sported both a sleeve and the jersey number 3 as a tribute to Iverson. “I wore an arm sleeve throughout my career because A.I. did,” Wade said in 2023. “I respectfully wore the No. 3 throughout my college and NBA career to represent the love and the respect that I have for this man.”

Sleeves are also one more way the league and its licensing partners can help monetize the sport. In March 2025, the Topps trading card company announced it had acquired the Nike sleeve LeBron James wore when he crossed 50,000 career points. The material will be used for an ultra-rare collectible card.

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