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Finger sleeve

Protective clothing item

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

A finger sleeve is a kind of protective garment, and sometimes a compression garment, that is worn on the fingers. They are generally worn for pain relief and for support and protection for the finger, but can also be worn as a fashion statement, or to improve the wearer's ability to perform certain tasks involving the fingers.

01Basketball

Finger sleeves are worn by some basketball players to support and protect their finger joints and for pain relief, as well as to enhance grip on the ball during a shot. It is up to the player's preference on which finger the sleeve is worn. Many, such as Reggie Miller, choose to wear more than one finger sleeve. The use of the finger sleeve is authorized and approved by the National Basketball Association (NBA). In many cases, the finger sleeve is worn for protection as an alternative to performing some sort of taping job on the digit.

Notable wearers

Notable people who have worn finger sleeves include:

Kobe Bryant wore two finger sleeves at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Kobe Bryant wore two finger sleeves at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Kevin Garnett sported a black finger sleeve at a game in January 2008.
Kevin Garnett sported a black finger sleeve at a game in January 2008.

02Gaming

Gamers sometimes wear compression finger sleeves.

Razer Inc. offers finger sleeves designed for mobile gaming. They are worn over the fingertip and are designed to increase grip and protect the wearer from friction. They are less than 1 millimetre (0.039 in) thick and are woven with silver fibers so that the barrier does not prevent the touchscreen from reacting to the wearer's finger presses.

Reggie Miller wearing two finger sleeves and a wristband
Reggie Miller wearing two finger sleeves and a wristband
Watch videos about Finger sleeveExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Finger sleeve, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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