For most of the NBA’s history we were used to the players wearing simple white socks. It’s hard to imagine nowadays, but when the Fab Five started wearing black socks in the early 1990s this caused a real uproar. Still, even with the two color choices the on-court sock game has been pretty much low-profile so far. This is gonna change with the start of the 2015/16 season as Stance, a company specialized solely in producing colorful high-quality socks, signed a deal to become the official supplier of NBA socks.
Stance x NBA
This new deal comes as a bit of a surprise but also follows a natural development. For a number of years, NBA players have impressed with their off-court outfits. Players like Dwyane Wade and Russell Westbrook became fashion icons. It’s no wonder that the latter’s first Jordan Brand signature shoe is an off-court fashion sneaker rather than a basketball performance shoe. But it doesn’t stop with footwear. Entering the arenas and going to the post-game press conferences you can see NBA stars rocking the most flamboyant outfits, matching crazy patterns and different materials. Flashy hats, backpacks and socks have become essential accessories and, of course, many of the players love Stance. By focussing solely on socks, Stance revolutionized an accessory “that had been ignored, taken for granted, and dismissed” thus far. The company already has three lines of NBA- and basketball-related socks: the performance line Stance Fusion, the fashion socks represented by Dwyane Wade’s collection and socks featuring photo prints of NBA legends like Larry Bird, Hakeem, Ewing, Pistol Pete, Penny & Shaq, Stockalone and many more.
The 2015 NBA All-Star weekend in New York City already gave us a sneak peek at what to expect from the collaboration, as Stance provided both the West and the East All-Stars with game socks, showing off a hot tie-dye pattern. The players loved them as did the fans.
Since the NBA recognizes socks as an accessory and not part of the uniform (although it’s mandatory for players to wear the socks), Stance is able to put their logo on them. For Stance and the NBA, this is a big deal – both in a literal and figurative sense. Stance will provide a classic white and black pair as well as more colorful options matching each team’s home and away jerseys and featuring the teams’ logos. There will also be special socks for theme nights like the “La NBA noches” to celebrate the growing support of NBA fans and players across Latin American and U.S. Hispanic communities. Stance also announced that one half of the splash brothers, Klay Thompson, joins their team as brand ambassador, following Dwyane Wade, Chandler Parsons and Andre Drummond as well as NBA legend Allen Iverson.
In Germany, the Stance NBA socks will be available exclusively at KICKZ.com. At our flagship store KICKZ Stachus in Munich you can already find the world’s biggest Stance sock wall featuring a wide selection of NBA as well as fashion socks. Come by and check it out! Plus, you can of course have a look at our online selection of Stance socks at KICKZ.com: DE|AT|CH|FR|UK|NL|IT!
The world’s biggest Stance socks wall at KICKZ Stachus in Munich, Germany
Threads – Chandler Parsons
Stance x Dwyane Wade Spades Tournament