Allen Iverson's famous arm sleeves were hand stitched by an old lady

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The NBA Playoffs are full of guys wearing what has become known as the "shooter sleeve," the piece of cloth worn on one arm that does who-knows-what exactly.

The fact that half of the starters in the Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat series are wearing them prompted the New Yorker to get the story behind the most famous shooter sleeve, on the guy who set trends from hair-styles, to tattoos, to flashy new required "collared shirts," and even weird pieces of arm fashion: Allen Iverson.

It started as an improvised solution proposed by then Sixers trainer, Lenny Currier, to help with the bursitis in A.I.'s elbow. The jawn caught on and the go-getters at upstart sports apparel company Under Armor saw an opportunity:

A few months after Iverson débuted the repurposed compression stockinette, a nascent sportswear company called Under Armour contacted Currier and asked if Iverson might try on a nylon sleeve they had made especially for him. “Their version was longer and came in red, blue, black, and white, so that it could match whatever uniform we were wearing that night,” Currier said. “They had some elderly lady stitching them together by hand. Allen ended up giving her an autographed jersey because he loved the product so much.”

Someone get MCW her number.

>>The History of the Allen Iverson sleeve [New Yorker]

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