# What's the point of wearin rubber bands



## MoJo8888

I wear them cuz they are kinda a cheap cool lookin braclet thing. Plus all the ballers where them.

Just wondering tho.....is there a reason why the players where them?


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## Zach

I think it is stupid. I see no point in wearing them. I only wear them when I am using a rubberband and take it off real quick.  But that's just me.


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## Crossword

So people can rap about them...


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## Anima

> Originally posted by <b>MoJo8888</b>!
> I wear them cuz they are kinda a cheap cool lookin braclet thing. Plus all the ballers where them.
> 
> Just wondering tho.....is there a reason why the players where them?


I know KG wears his to disipline himself when he does something wrong. Not sure why other players wear them.


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## Jmonty580

Mo Cheeks and several other guards wear rubber bands for one reason: When committing a turnover, they snap their rubber bands to punish themselves. I don't know if this is the reason Allen wears rubber bands, but it's possible.


Here's something I found from a website


Dear Coach, 

I recently saw a friend wearing a rubber band around his wrist and asked him why he was wearing it. He said he was using it to think positive.

Can this really help or is this just a silly gimmick?

Sincerely,
Frank
Dear Frank,

This reminds me of an old joke. 

"Are you having a problem with something I said? Well, put a rubber band around your head and snap out of it!"

Although wearing a rubber band around your wrist may seem silly, it is based on scientific facts of pattern interruption. 

Patterns are habits that we form in our lives. Some of us are fortunate enough to be able to change them without the use of a rubber band, some of us need a little help.

Pattern interruption in itself is not enough to change your thinking. When you snap the rubber band, you are acknowledging that this thought pattern needs to be changed. In order to change this pattern it must be replaced with a positive thought.

If you can identify when you are having a negative thought, and snap the rubber band, immediately replace this thought with a positive thought.

It will be difficult to change all behavior or thought patterns at once so try to select one or two thoughts that you have regularly that prevent you from accomplishing your goals. Have a pre-determined positive phrase that you tell yourself when you snap the band. Repeat this for 21 days.

After 21 days if your way of thinking on this issue has not changed, throw away the rubber band because you are wasting your time with it.

Then seek out a professional coach to help you more intensively. 

There is not always a snappy solution to every problem.

Ask Coach Krank is a new feature of The Newswire.


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## Zach

^I guess that makes sense. If I had known that I woulda had 100 more points:sigh:


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## MJG

The point is that it is just something for players to do, it's a style. No different from wearing socks up, or two headbands, or whatever else people cook up.


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## CP26

I think some players wear it just to look cool or its a habit that they got stuck to, such as the way Josh Howard wears his headband, it looks like its gonna fall off every time I see it.


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## kirk_2003

Who's the first person to wear BANDS in the NBA? Vince Carter was wearing them for at least 3 years. :yes:


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## Anima

> Originally posted by <b>kirk_2003</b>!
> Who's the first person to wear BANDS in the NBA? Vince Carter was wearing them for at least 3 years. :yes:


Wilt Chamberlain


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## -33-

i always have worn a rubberband....

i guess its a poor man's bling....


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## Laker Freak

> Originally posted by <b>Caron_Butler</b>!
> i always have worn a rubberband....
> 
> i guess its a poor man's bling....


Yes and we all know those NBA players are so poor. :grinning:


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## pr0wler

i remember cliff robinson wearing a headband for a while (one of the first I remember). When I was a kid, and I didn't know who he was, I knew him as "the guy with the headband". It was kind of a cool unique trademark...but now everyone wears a headband so its no big deal.


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## rebelsun

That's interesting about the rubberbands. I had always thought it was just a fashion statement. 

That's a form of classical conditioning (as in Pavlov's dogs, if you've learned about that).

This type of learning takes the neutral stimulus (negative thoughts), and creates a conditioned stimulus (the snapping of the rubber band) along w/ a conditioned response (analysis/change of thoughts). Eventually, if successfully completed, when you experience the neutral stimulus (the negative thoughts), you will skip over the conditioned stimulus (the snapping of the rubberband), and go straight to the conditioned response (analysis/change of thoughts). 

In other words, you eventually skip the punishment unconsciously, because you have created a connection from the problem to the solution = after you realize a problem, you immediately take action to resolve it.


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## MightyReds2020

N years ago, I heard people wearing rubber band while playing hoops to prevent sweat causing blur on eyes. Some people's head is easier to sweat so they put a rubber band above their eyes. Of course it's just a 'cool' thing nowadays.


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## mysterio

Its a game. If you break it, he will have to kiss you:uhoh: ... no... KG snaps himself with the rubber band whenever he makes a turnover. For KG it is used for negative reinforcement, which by the way is not as effective as positive reinforcement (rewarding self for doing something good) according to most psychologists.


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## rebelsun

> Originally posted by <b>mysterio</b>!
> Its a game. If you break it, he will have to kiss you:uhoh: ... no... KG snaps himself with the rubber band whenever he makes a turnover. For KG it is used for negative reinforcement, which by the way is not as effective as positive reinforcement (rewarding self for doing something good) according to most psychologists.


Be careful w/ the terminology.

Negative reinforcement is *reinforcement through the termination of unpleasant stimuli* - i.e. hitting the snooze button on an annoying alarm clock is negatively reinforced by the termination of the alarm.

KG snapping himself w/ a rubberband does not alleviate pain, he inflicts the pain upon himself consciously, which is a *conditioned* behavior.

KG is exerting *punishment* on himself. Reinforcement increases the likelihood of a response, punishment decreases the likelihood of a response.

I believe ultimately the goal of the rubberband is for KG, after he makes a mistake or acknowledges a problem, to immediately address/fix the problem. The conditioning of the *punishment (i.e. the snapping of the rubberband)* connects a sense of urgency and negativity to the moment he realizes there is a problem, hence he will react to the problem more quickly and more efficiently.

Maybe 2 rubberbands = Round 2 of the playoffs.


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## Odomiles

Since this hasn't been mentioned yet, I thought it'd be worth bringing up.

The reason why I wear a rubber band on my right wrist, is not to be fashionable, or to help myself psychologically while playing, but because of the feeling I get when I follow through on my shot. If you wear a rubber band all day long it tends to have an effect on the flow of blood to your wrist/hand (especially if you wear tight rubber bands), where it feels somewhat lighter. I love the feeling in my wrist when releasing the shot, after I've been wearing a rubber band for a long time. If you've got a poor release, it can also help your shooting mechanics because you tend to concentrate more on following through on your shot.

Try it out yourself some time, and let me know if you notice any differences.


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## c_dog

I wear it cuz it looks cool. Jewellery is out of the question when you play basketball, but simple accessories like rubber bands, sweat bands, even sleeves make you look cool.


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## rebelsun

> Originally posted by <b>Odomiles</b>!
> Since this hasn't been mentioned yet, I thought it'd be worth bringing up.
> 
> The reason why I wear a rubber band on my right wrist, is not to be fashionable, or to help myself psychologically while playing, but because of the feeling I get when I follow through on my shot. If you wear a rubber band all day long it tends to have an effect on the flow of blood to your wrist/hand (especially if you wear tight rubber bands), where it feels somewhat lighter. I love the feeling in my wrist when releasing the shot, after I've been wearing a rubber band for a long time. If you've got a poor release, it can also help your shooting mechanics because you tend to concentrate more on following through on your shot.
> 
> Try it out yourself some time, and let me know if you notice any differences.


Interesting. On a similar note, this reminds me of those magnetic bracelets they sell on TV for about $80. I found an article from an MIT professor discussing "magnetic therapy":



> Conclusion
> 
> The results of the Baylor study, however, raise the possibility that at least in some cases, topical application of permanent magnets may indeed be useful in pain relief, a conclusion that should be regarded as tentative until supported by further studies. Any mechanism for such an effect remains mysterious, but an effect of static magnetic fields on the complex electrochemical processes of the human body is not impossible. *My own guess is that inexpensive refrigerator magnets are as likely to provide help as the more expensive magnets marketed specifically for therapy. (But since human nature leads us to expect more from more expensive items, use of refrigerator magnets will probably decrease the placebo effect!)*


Magnetic Therapy(?)


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## Silent But Deadly

Rubber bands represent a struggle.


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## Ben1

It's more to do about style, but to some guys it's more than just style. I.e. KG wears bands to remind him to 'embrace changes' as well, and AI wears them to snap and punish himself whenever he makes a mistake.


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## IV

> Originally posted by <b>MoJo8888</b>!
> I wear them cuz they are kinda a cheap cool lookin braclet thing. Plus all the ballers where them.
> 
> Just wondering tho.....is there a reason why the players where them?


Kevin Garnett used to wear rubber band to discipline himself whenever he'd make a mistake on the court. He'd pull the band and let it slap his wrist.


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## LionOfJudah

I wore one for a while in HS back around 98-99 cause I was a big KG fan back then.

Belive it or not, I was the biggest Kobe fan back before he was big. Still have like 3 years worth of Kobe Adidas from back then.


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