Players usually wear face masks once they have been injured to the face (obviously) to prevent further injury or re injury by other players. 4. 4k Views Bastiaan Bogers, I have played basketball from age 9 to 18. read more
Mostly the players who wear these masks are really quick at getting to the basket so much so they leave the defense reaching for the ball but they are so fast the time they reach the faster player's face is where the ball just was so the faster player catches an eye gouge or broken nose. read more
Classically, we had players like Bill Laimbeer and Alonzo Mourning who wore the masks, but still the occurrence was rare. Now, in the 2013-2014 season, we already have at least four players who have worn the face mask: Nando De Colo, Matt Bonner, Patrick Patterson, and Tristan Thompson. read more
Because of how little protection basketball players wear and how physical the sport is, players of the sport are injured very often — to the face, the legs, etc. When these injuries land on the face or on areas that won’t make it much harder to play, basketball players — usually professionals — will try to continue to play while ensuring that the injuries that they have received don’t worsen. read more