NBA players can breathe a sigh of relief since commissioner David Stern said they will be "pleasantly surprised" about the upcoming dress code announcement, which Stern told The Denver Post he plans to make next week.

There have been reports about a strict dress code before and after games, on the bench, on team planes and upon arrival at hotels.

While Stern didn't disclose details, the dress code is expected to be business casual at games and reasonable.

"It's a lot less than all of you are talking about, a lot less," Stern said Friday. "Right now we have a number of teams that are jacket and tie. We are not going there. Never were. We're going to give teams the option to continue that.

"But we're just trying to raise the lowest level up to a place where we can all still feel comfortable. I don't think it will be a problem.

"The gloom and doom (speculations) have so softened up everybody that by the time we issue the dress code, which will be some time next week, everybody will be pleasantly surprised."