Amare cut his iris from a finger poke during a training game when he was the playing for the Phoenix Suns. He started wearing basketball goggles but soon stopped wearing them, he injured his eye again which detached his retina and always wore basketball goggles following this games.
We have taken a look at the freak injury which caused Stoudmire to end up wearing glasses and we have taken at the basketball goggles that Stoudmire has worn over the years.
How Did Amare Stoudmire Injure His Eye?
During Phoenix Suns training camp in the 2008-2009 season, Stoudmire was on a fast break during a training game. Boris Diaw and Stoudmire were in the same lane. Diaw made contact with Stourdmire at full speed and Diaw’s finger went into Stourdmire’s eye. Stoudmire suffered a tear to the iris in his right eye.
Intially, Stoudmire thought he was blind, as he laid on the floor of the court, all he could see was black. The medical team put drops in Stoudrmire’s eye but nothing was happening. However, eventually Stoudmire managed to see again however, it took a month of recovery before Stoudmire returned to the court.
The Biggest Mistake Stoudmire Made With Goggles
As soon as Stourdmire received the injury from Diaw, he knew that he was going to wear goggles when playing basketball. This was because he did not want to go through the same experience of not being able to see again. The biggest mistake Stoudmire made was that he didn’t make the time to take his goggles for a test run. Given his stature in the NBA, its most likely that glasses companies would of supplied Stoudmire with free goggles. If he had taken his time to choose a comfortable pair of goggles he may not of got injured for a second time.
Stoudmire wore his first pair of basketball goggles for the first two months after coming back from injury. However, he decided not to wear the goggles after this points, as they did not feel comfortable. Looking back, Stoudmire wished he had gone through a process of trial and error trying to find the perfect basketball goggle, as this would of prevented the second injury which kept him out of the NBA for longer.
When Stoudmire was playing against the LA Clippers he went up for a block on Al Thorton however, Thorton accidentally poked Stoudmire in the right eye. This was the same eye where he had torn his iris previously. Stoudmire went to the eye doctor thinking that the damage wouldn’t be excessive. However, Stoudmire was in grave danger of losing his sight as Stoudmires retina had become disconnected from his eye. Stoudmire had to have some time off the court in order to have the operation. The operation entailed Stoudmire lying on a medical table for 22 hours a day for ten days in order to attached the retina back to the eye.
What Basketball Goggles Did Stoudmire Wear?
Stoudmire wanted to find some cool basketball goggles to try and help kids take up wearing basketball goggles whilst playing basketball. Stoudmire said he wanted glasses with style when he was playing, so that kids thought he looked cool. However, Stoudmire was keen to ensure that the protectiveness of the basketball goggles remained and that style did not compensate for protectiveness. Stoudmire was asked if his eye injury encouraged his team mates to wear eye protection. Stoudmire said
They recognise the situation and that they would have to experience an eye poke to realise that the need to wear basketball goggles.
Following the eye injury Stoudmire wore Oakley Sports Goggles, although he could never get comfortable with the goggles. Stoudmire was not allowed to take the goggles home and he had to keep them in his locker.
Like with everything basketball, Nike got involved with make a pair of goggles for Stoudmire. Nike decided to create a customised pair of Nike Visions glasses for Stoudmire. The lenses were made of polycabornate to ensure that the lenses didn’t break whilst he was playing.
What NBA Players Wear Basketball Goggles?
In this day and age of basketball there are no current NBA players who wear basketball goggles. However, in the past, when the game was potentially more physical there were a number of people who wore basketball goggles these people were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Horace Grant and James Worthy. It would be awesome to see basketball goggles make a comeback to the NBA.
