In the fast-paced environment of the NBA, players are increasingly turning to hand care products to enhance their grip and performance on the court. The most prominent recent example would be Karl-Anthony Towns. As a result, he has begun to make regular trips to the score’s table during games to retrieve additional supplies of his preferred hand powder. He famously sets the pace for this practice at the beginning of each quarter. He lingers after timeouts, after video reviews, every time he returns to action.
Towns embraced this ritual as soon as he entered the league, influenced by the obsessive work ethic of legends such as Kobe Bryant. In fact, his commitment to hand grooming is so intense that he almost turned over the scorer’s table in a fit. He lost his precious hand talc! It’s part of a larger NBA trend. This is indicative of a growing league trend. Hand cream and powder are now staples that most players can’t do without.
NBA players have adopted these products as the leading craze. If you’re one of those who us who are, there are plenty of new choices out there to help you improve your hold. Players such as Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert have become noble ambassadors for “Team Powder” back in Minnesota. In a slightly different case, Luke Kennard won’t stop raving about Working Hands cream, claiming that it gives him extra confidence to hold the ball and make plays.
Kelly Oubre Jr. takes it a step further, insisting that proper hand cream will make a player better at catching, dribbling and shooting. Filling the canvas T.J. McConnell employs a painter’s precision in his game-day routine. He dips his finger into a green jar multiple times, rubbing cream onto his fingers and hands on each occasion.
More than just a cool product, the proliferation of these green jars and tubes has paralleled an astounding boom in their use on court. As a result, these products have become a go-to for players wanting to make hand maintenance a priority in midgame. Many popular consumer products are prohibited in the league for similar safety code violations. This extends to Mueller’s Stickum and Cramer’s Firm Grip powder.
Mueller is a family-owned Wisconsin sports medicine company, founded in 1959. Even with limitations on several of these items, their products have resonated with gamers. Dwight Powell even talked about how he’s become dependent on these creams and powders, in that they’re always readily available when needed.
Even bigger stars, such as Steph Curry and Donovan Mitchell have begun applying hand cream. Plus, they’ve added Damian Lillard and Bam Adebayo! Luke Kennard and Mike Conley have each talked about how much they need to use hand cream to grip an NBA ball at all.
“If it’s not where it’s usually at, it’s usually there within, like, one complaint.” – Dwight Powell
Brunson joked that he often “pilfer some from the plant.” He needed to be sure that, for major games, he had adequate materials in stockpile. At each stop, players expressed gratitude for their access to these products. Oubre Jr. summed up this mindset beautifully when he shrugged and replied, “It’s always been an NBA thing, I guess.”
Karl-Anthony Towns has integrated this practice into his routine so deeply that he admits to building a habit around using scorer’s table powder.
“It’s cool, I like it; I see why people use it. It’s hard, though. I’ve built a habit of using scorer’s table powder. So that’s the way I go.” – Karl-Anthony Towns
This fixation on hand preservation highlights just how valuable grip can be for athletes pushing their limits in the pursuit of a championship on the hardwood. The mental aspect of feeling secure with the ball in hand cannot be understated. As Jalen Brunson puts it, “Sometimes more, sometimes less, but it’s a must.”
Leave a Reply