Ten years ago on Oct. 17, 2005, NBA players received a surprising memo from then-commissioner David Stern. A league-wide dress code was going into effect. No more baggy jeans. No fitted baseball caps. No XXXL white T-shirts. No Timberland boots. Oversized necklaces – even ones with religious pendants – were also out.
Players were not happy. Some jokingly called it the "A.I. rule" after Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson. Some thought it was racist toward black players or a slap at the hip-hop community.
"I remember a lot of guys being upset with it," said San Antonio Spurs forward David West who was then playing for the New Orleans Hornets.