Why NBA Players Must Keep Jerseys Tucked In

over 2 years ago

Chris Paul was elected as the president of the National Basketball Players Association in 2013. It's no surprise then that he has a high IQ when it comes to the rules of the game. In a December 2019 game while playing for the Thunder, he put that brain of his to great effect against the Timberwolves. Paul snitched on Jordan Bell for an untucked jersey and they ended up winning the game from an almost impossible situation.

With 1.1 seconds on the clock, The Timberwolves were up by two points and Karl Anthony Towns had two free throws to effectively ice the game. Towns missed the first free throw. Minnesota subbed in Jordan Bell who entered with an untucked jersey. Chris Paul yells "jersey untucked! That's a delay of game".

https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1203164023459586050

Referee Scott Foster called a tech foul on Bell and Danilo Gallinari made the free throw. Towns still had his one remaining free throw, so all he had to do was miss it and the Thunder would have had no chance with 1.1 seconds to score a basket.

Towns amazingly scored the basket by accident. From the inbound Steven Adams threw a hail mary ball to Dennis Schorder who scored a layup almost immediately and as the buzzer went off. The Thunder forced overtime in miraculous circumstances and went on to win the game 139-127 win.

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1203157055499956224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1203157055499956224%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportingnews.com%2Fus%2Fnba%2Fnews%2Fchris-paul-jersey-rule-thunder-timberwolves%2F1renej4es5sra13li12r6i1d4a

Chris Paul had effectively won the game from an impossible situation all because of an untucked jersey. Paul knew of the NBA's "tuck rule".

In the rule book is "Rule #3 - Players, Substitutes and Coaches" which goes on to read that "a substitute must be ready to enter the game when beckoned. No delays for removal of warm-up clothing will be permitted".

A technical foul can be given because of a delay of game violation and that's exactly what Paul called for. Because Jordan Bell came into the game and wasn't "ready", he got called for the tech foul. You can imagine that Bell would have been pissed off after the game.

https://twitter.com/royceyoung/status/1203169681852522497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1203169681852522497%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportingnews.com%2Fus%2Fnba%2Fnews%2Fchris-paul-jersey-rule-thunder-timberwolves%2F1renej4es5sra13li12r6i1d4a

But Paul kinda ruined it for the rest of the NBA though. NBA officials ignored the "tuck rule" until Paul brought it to everybody's attention.

Not even two weeks after, Knicks guard Elfrid Payton was called for a tech foul as he entered the court while tucking in his jersey. Payton was bemused and the red told him “You can thank Chris Paul”.

https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1206393854515195905

Paul's a bit of a snitch, but he's a stickler for the rules and you can't blame him with his National Basketball Players Association presidency role. Against the Blazers, Carmelo Anthony claps his hands and Paul is all too eager to highlight to the ref that he should be called for a tech foul. The referee of course, obliges.

https://twitter.com/joebrisson12/status/1203892153891590144

So there you have it. Lesson learnt. Keep your shirts tucked in. Somebody's watching.

YES, ANOTHER BASKETBALL BLOG...

Another Basketball Blog is a spin-off of Wolfgang Sport, an American and British sports blog I created in 2017. Basketball is one of the most culturally intensive sports in the world and the aim is to dive deep into the culture.

sportstalk sports