The NBA's new Nike jerseys appear to have a major flaw — they rip easily.
LeBron James had a large and very noticeable tear on the back of his jersey after Boston Celtics point guard Jaylen Brown grabbed him.
Lebron's jersey gets ripped on a quick grab by Jaylen Brown. pic.twitter.com/CKqXgr9DXG
— Tas Melas (@TasMelas) October 18, 2017
First game of Nike’s NBA jersey deal, Nike’s biggest spokesperson is playing in a ripped jersey. pic.twitter.com/q3Te171IO2
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 18, 2017
MORE: Nike welcomes LeBron’s 15th season with fresh commercial
This wasn't the first time one of Nike's new jerseys ripped. Tyler Ennis had a similar jersey tear during the Lakers’ preseason opener that was also the result of a grab.
— NBA SKITS (@NBA_Skits) October 1, 2017
The back of LeBron’s jersey ripped somewhere along the lines of that play.
— Basketball Society (@BBallSociety_) October 18, 2017
Second time Nike has had this issue... pic.twitter.com/gPBrDKUuMk
While it is not yet clear why the jerseys are tearing, they do have special features that could possibly be a contributing factor.
From QZ.com:
"Nike had been touting its new jerseys because it used 3D body maps of players to optimize the shape and says the material wicks sweat much better than previous jerseys. That material is polyester made from recycled plastic equivalent to about 20 water bottles, making the jerseys a good promoter of Nike’s sustainability efforts, too."
Nike reportedly paid $1 billion to become the official apparel for the NBA for the next eight years.