Phoenix Suns: A tribute to early ancestors of The Valley, our Mexican and Mexican-American fans, and the warrior spirit we bring to battle everyday. Drop your thoughts below 📥
More on Uniforms
Phoenix said it is working on a uniform concept based on ancient Aztec symbolism. The team released designs of the jerseys on Thursday on its website. The uniform features the Aztec Sun Stone on the front of the jerseys, the Aztec Death Stone on the back and jaguar armor on the pants leg. There have been mixed reactions, which has caused the Suns to release a series of statements on Twitter.
One complaint centered on whether the Aztecs were ever in Arizona to begin with. To that, the Suns said: "Some sources trace the origins of Aztlan, the ancestral home of the Aztec people, to modern day Arizona before migrating south. While research is ongoing, we wanted to create an open dialogue with our fans surrounding this uniform concept."
Nick DePaula: FIRST LOOK: Nike’s new “Classic Edition” jerseys for the NBA’s 75th anniversary season. Will be worn by only the Knicks, Warriors & Celtics — three of the league’s original franchises. pic.twitter.com/CrZ6IjrYAY
The Golden State Warriors have unveiled their Warriors Origins jersey, presented by Rakuten, which will serve as the team’s 2021-22 Classic Edition uniform. The Warriors Origins jersey is a modern-era spin on the team’s 1961-62 road uniform, the 16th and final season that the team played in Philadelphia prior to the team’s move to the West Coast the following season. Additionally, the Warriors unveiled a new 75th anniversary logo today in celebration, which will be featured throughout the 2021-22 NBA season.
Golden State Warriors: 1947 ↔️ 2022 After 75 years of Warriors basketball, it’s time for the past to meet the future Warriors Origins || @Rakuten
Jeff Zillgitt: NBA will celebrate 75 years of the league in 2021-22, naming the top 75 players in NBA history. Those 75 players will be announced in October and honored at 2022 NBA All-Star Game. Teams will have new City Edition jerseys to celebrate 75 years.
Nick DePaula: All 16 NBA Earned Jerseys for this season revealed. Celebrating the 16 teams that made the 2020 Playoffs. Each jersey features Silver accents — the Lakers’ incorporates Trophy gold. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/6MnUQmNDi7
The Miami Heat’s marketing and creative teams introduced the popular Vice look in the 2017-18 season and have been immersed in that campaign ever since. Until now. With the Heat unveiling the fifth and final uniform of its successful Vice campaign — the “ViceVersa” City Edition uniform — earlier this season, the organization took a different approach to create its Earned Edition uniform.
Playing off the golden accent in its standard team colors, the Heat plans to unveil its “Trophy Gold” Earned Edition uniforms on Thursday. Each of the 16 teams that made the playoffs last season has its own Nike Earned Edition uniform. In a press release to describe the new uniform, the Heat wrote: “Trophy Gold started as a stripe: a small, golden accent introduced to the Heat uniform set — and the larger team identity — prior to the 1999 season. But the new color didn’t just run down the side of the jersey — it ran through the entire organization, reminding every player, coach, and employee of the ultimate goal: a championship. Nothing less will do. In the 21 seasons since gold first graced the uniform, the team has lived up to its glimmering, glorious legacy, capturing three NBA Championships — tied for the league’s third most in that span.”
Gina Mizell: #Suns are debuting The Valley jerseys and court tonight on national TV against the Pelicans.
Zach Lowe: The Heat's "Vice" uniforms were supposed to end last season. At the last minute, the team decided to design one grand "Vice" finale -- revealed this morning at ESPN, complete with backstory and cutting room floor imagery: insider.espn.com/nba/insider/st…
The LA Clippers have partnered with globally renowned artist, Mister Cartoon, and LA-based graffiti and street artist Royyal Dog to celebrate the authentic spirit of LA street culture through this year's Nike City Edition uniform and merchandise collection. The 2020-21 City Edition uniform keeps the widely popular 'Los Angeles' wordmark from last season as the design's visual center on a black uniform with white accents. The design is a symbol of the Clippers' commitment to Los Angeles and will help cultivate the next generation of talent in the city through the "Make Your Mark" campaign, which encourages LA youth to hone their art through practice and hard work and to strive for greatness. Through tireless effort, resiliency, and optimism, Mister Cartoon became a master of his craft and has inspired a generation of street artists like Royyal Dog to carve their paths and achieve their goals.
Inspired by Milwaukee’s meaning as “the gathering place by the water,” the Milwaukee Bucks have unveiled their 2020-21 City Edition uniform, which for the first time features the team’s Great Lakes Blue color. Including Great Lakes Blue, which was incorporated into the Bucks’ color palette in 2015, the uniform features three unique shades of blue that represent the three rivers that run through Milwaukee, as well as the depths of Lake Michigan. The uniform symbolizes both Milwaukee’s and the Bucks’ role in bringing people together, which is noted by the phrase “Gathering Place” on the bottom of the jersey.
The Memphis Grizzlies are celebrating the life of singer/songwriter Isaac Hayes and the legacy of Stax Records during the 2020-21 season with their new “Memphis Soul City Edition” Nike uniforms.
The team said the uniforms serve as “a tribute to the sounds and artists that defined the deep-rooted heart and soul of Memphis music.”
Hayes, who died in 2008 at the age of 65, was best known for being the creator and singer of the Grammy and Oscar award-winning theme song from the 1971 action movie Shaft. The Memphis, Tennessee, native also voiced a character in the South Park cartoon series and was a longtime songwriter and arranger for Stax Records, which was based in Memphis and had influential artists such as Hayes, Otis Redding, Booker T. & the MG’s and Johnnie Taylor.
In celebration of the launch of the 2020-21 San Antonio Spurs City Edition jerseys, the team has collaborated with Ebbets Field Flannels to create a limited-edition apparel collection featuring caps, t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets and flannel jerseys from the popular lifestyle brand. The full collection will be available exclusively at the Spurs Fan Shop at La Cantera beginning today at 11 a.m. The eight-piece clothing collection was inspired by the Spurs long history, and produced in honor of this year’s Nike City Edition uniform. Each piece was made in the US and features hand-sewn embellishments and 100 percent authentic, historical fabrics. All jerseys, ballcaps, jackets and sweaters are cut, sewn, or knit, from original fabrics and yarns.
Jovan Buha: The Clippers announced that Honey will be their new sponsor pitch on their jerseys this season. They will be replacing Bumble. Honey also has the naming rights to the Clippers’ practice facility. pic.twitter.com/UOCPofym6M
Darren Rovell: Unveiled: @DetroitPistons “Motor City” City Edition Uniforms
Mirjam Swanson: The Clippers’ jerseys this season will display patches featuring the logo of L.A.-based technology company Honey, the team reports. Last season, Honey became the naming rights partner for the renovated Honey Training Center and Honey’s logo was displayed on practice jerseys.
The Thunder released its new city edition uniforms Monday, on Oklahoma’s 113th anniversary of statehood. For the first time, only the name “Oklahoma” will appear across the chest of the Thunder’s jersey. The all caps black lettering is similar to the font on the state flag. "This year’s city edition uniform truly captures and honors the pride we feel in being Oklahoma’s team," said Brian Byrnes, the Thunder’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. "It also is a tribute to the diverse people of our state who are defined by the values of hard work, perseverance and kindness.
New Orleans Pelicans: Passionate. Resilient. Unparalleled. There's only one New Orleans. #WontBowDown
Chicago Bulls: Make no little plans. 2020-21 City Edition Rightwards arrow.
For the first time in history, the San Antonio Spurs will wear the classic Fiesta colors on their jerseys. The team today unveiled a new twist on its iconic look with the 2020-21 Nike City Edition jerseys. The 2020 Spurs City Edition launch is presented by H-E-B. The new uniform features the team’s historic Fiesta colors in bold diagonal stripes of teal, pink, and orange on a black jersey top with “San Antonio” emblazoned across the chest in old school script, the first time the team’s hometown has been front and center on a jersey since 1989. Dotting the “i” is a rowel emblem, a nod to the iconic spur logo. The jersey tag pattern on the player’s left hip is imported straight from the ‘90s – a vibrant tribal design with festive flair. On the left side of the chest is a Frost Bank logo highlighting the official jersey partner of the San Antonio Spurs. Go to Spurs.com/CityEdition to learn more about the design behind the new look and to get first access to Spurs Fiesta merchandise.
Marc J. Spears: The Hornets unveiled new a City Edition uniform today to be worn next season. The uniform, which celebrates Charlotte’s history as home of the first U.S. Branch Mint and the Carolina Gold Rush of the early 1800s, is mint with gold and granite accents. Granite is the state rock. pic.twitter.com/6nRJR23gsy
Today, the Sacramento Kings unveiled the new City Edition uniform for the 2020-21 season with colors that have been woven through the franchise’s history. Fans can sign up now to be among the first to order the jersey on Thursday, December 3 at Kings.com/City.
The new City Edition uniform takes cues from four previous franchise jerseys, including the 1985 Baby Blue Road Uniform, 1994 Checker Alternate Uniform, 2000 Black Road Uniform and the recent 2019 Red Sactown City Edition Uniform.
Allen Iverson: Be on the lookout next week!!! @Philadelphia 76ers pic.twitter.com/vmrYp5cBkJ
Kellan Olson: Suns are sharing some player reactions to the new jersey over on Instagram (instagram.com/suns). Kelly Oubre Jr. is a fan!
Portland Trail Blazers: Our 2020-21 uniform celebrates the unique beauty of Oregon’s landscape as well as acknowledging & honoring the tribal nations throughout what is now considered Oregon who have called this land their home from the beginning. Take a closer look: trailblazers.com/uniform
Be Magic Or Be Gone: Terrence Ross said the Magic’s city jerseys will be a remake of last years juice jerseys, but instead of gray, they’ll be in white! S/o to @TerrenceRoss for always giving us the jersey gossip : @themagicreport
Michael Scotto: The Brooklyn Nets unveiled classic edition uniforms for the upcoming season, paying homage to the Drazen Petrovic, Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson New Jersey Nets era. pic.twitter.com/JpFr5tPewh
The Atlanta Hawks will honor late civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a new alternate jersey next season. For the first time in NBA history, King's initials "MLK" will appear on the front of the Hawks' 2020-21 MLK City Edition uniform. The Hawks say that the "Black, Gold and White colorway speaks to Dr. King's determination, as well as his understated style." The Hawks plan to donate profits from the jersey sales to the Atlanta community.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said recently that the earliest the 2020-21 NBA season could begin is January. The Hawks could potentially debut the jersey on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18 if next season begins in January, a source said.
Sarah K. Spencer: Here are more looks at the Hawks' new City Edition uniforms! (Pay special attention to some of the details, which have really awesome stories behind them).
On the night he drained a very Bryant-like game-winner to stun the Denver Nuggets, Davis said the Lakers feel Bryant’s spirit when they wear them. “How can you not believe that there’s some power to it?” asked Tim Harris, the Lakers president of business operations and chief operating officer. “We’ve all heard the stories of how the 2-4 shows up in different places and then that happens and then Frank makes mention of it talking to the team. How do you not believe in the magic? How do you not believe that he’s watching us? How do you not?”
Bryant will be front and center again when the Lakers wear their Mamba-edition jerseys for Game 2 on Friday night. "Obviously, we're representing him," said Anthony Davis, who yelled "Kobe" after making a buzzer-beater to beat the Nuggets in the conference finals. "Especially in those jerseys. It's his jersey, one he created, and anytime we put it on, we want to win."
The Charlotte Hornets today unveiled new Association and Icon Edition uniforms to be worn starting with the 2020-21 NBA season, in association with Official Jersey Patch Partner LendingTree. The white and teal uniforms were updated in 2017 when Jordan Brand became the Hornets’ uniform provider, but this marks the first full redesign since the Hornets brand returned in 2014.
The Detroit Pistons released a photo of their latest Statement Edition uniforms, featuring the Jordan brand, for the 2020-21 season. Beginning next season, Michael Jordan’s “Jumpman” logo will be featured on the Statement Edition uniforms of all 30 teams in the NBA.
Chris Kirschner: To further clarify: These are the Hawks’ “Statement Edition” jerseys for next season.
A day after forward Miles Bridges leaked the news on Instagram, the NBA Charlotte Hornets on Friday unveiled their first gray uniform in franchise history. “For those of you who don’t follow @MilesBridges on Instagram…our 2019-20 City Edition Uniforms have arrived,” the Hornets tweeted with the hashtag AllFly.
“Cool gray” became an accent color on Hornets uniforms when the Hornets name returned to Charlotte in 2014, according to the team. The City Edition officially unveiled by the team Friday morning features an entirely new design, including a cell pattern on both sides of the jersey and shorts.
Eric Woodyard: Cleveland’s new City Edition jerseys will celebrate the team’s 50th anniversary, while honoring the big moments in club history. The featherlike “Cle” wordmark is inspired by throwback Cavs uniforms. pic.twitter.com/YpEecNG8nu
Boston Celtics: Introducing our 2019-20 City Edition uniforms. On-court & at retail on 11/27 pic.twitter.com/PmNJoCUgkO
SLAM Magazine: Chicago's City Edition jerseys. Absolutely beautiful. 📷: @Chicago Bulls pic.twitter.com/UD8WgtlUmx
SLAM Magazine: Are these the best jerseys in the league? 📷: @Denver Nuggets pic.twitter.com/uYAiSSnmtf
Today, the Sacramento Kings unveiled the new Nike City Edition uniforms for the 2019-20 season with a refreshed look. Blending old branding and new branding, the new City Edition uniforms feature red, baby blue, white and gray. These colors have been woven through the franchise’s history and help represent the 35 years of Kings basketball in Sacramento – continuing the Proud Past, Proud Future focus. This refreshed City Edition uniform will flip to feature red as the primary color for the first time in Kings history and still don “Sactown” across the chest – the adoring nickname given to the city by Sacramentans.
Christopher Hine: The Timberwolves will unveil their City Edition Jerseys tomorrow morning at a press conference featuring St . Paul mayor Melvin Carter and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey
Roy Parry: Magic CEO Alex Martins said the team collaborated with the NBA and Nike for nearly 2 years on ithe City Edition jersey, with nearly 2 dozen staff members working on the project. Martins said the Magic already have designed & finalized the next iteration of City Edition jerseys.
Multiple sources confirmed that they were the team's jerseys. The Celtics declined to comment on the matter.
The Phoenix Suns today unveiled their new Orange Statement Edition uniform that features a bright orange jersey with the iconic sunburst logo on the front along with orange shorts. White lettering and traditional Suns’ Purple trim appear throughout the uniform. The all-orange uniforms will be worn every Friday during the 2019-20 regular season (with the exception of Dec. 27 at Golden State).
The Los Angeles Clippers are going to their Buffalo roots and have unveiled jerseys reminiscent of their days as the Buffalo Braves. In a video posted on Twitter, the Clippers revealed a new addition to their 2019-2020 jersey rotation for selected games. The uniforms are for one-season only.
The 2019-20 NBA season will be a special one for the Toronto Raptors. One season after winning their first NBA title, the franchise will be celebrating their 25th anniversary of joining the NBA. To honour the occasion, the Raptors have announced they will bring back the "Dino" jersey that the team wore from their inaugural season in 1995 until 1999.
Eric Woodyard: The Utah Jazz unveil their purple mountain throwbacks for the 2019-20 season. pic.twitter.com/d4Bp5IRA89
The Portland Trail Blazers give fans a little something extra to be excited about heading into next season with new throwback jerseys. These jerseys feature the iconic vertical text from the year they won their sole NBA championship back in 1977. The Blazers took to Twitter to release an exciting promotional video, showcasing just how great the new jerseys look.
In 2015, the NBA and Nike closed on a reported $1 billion apparel deal to take effect during the 2017-18 season. As part of the deal, the league agreed to do away with “home” and “away” jersey designations, instead opting to produce five distinct options for the Warriors: Association (Classic white) Icon (Team color), Classic (throwback), Statement (The Town) and City editions. While each jersey told a story of the Warriors’ impact, each brought its own batch of ju-ju. “I’m superstitious,” said Jordan Bell. “So I think once you have a good game in a uniform, we’ll keep having good games in a uniform.”
“The biggest miss for us is we’re not wearing our throwback ‘We Believe’ jerseys,” Curry said. Bringing those back our last year in Oakland.” As for the future of alternates, Kerr believes this is only the beginning. “Money, money, money, money,” Kerr said. “It’s all money, it’s all revenue, it’s part of the business, and kids love gear, so do a lot of grown-ups. You keep generating more and you sell more and bottom line goes up, the interest goes up. It’s good business.”
The team had been toying with "Miami Vice" colors for years. Micky Arison, the Heat's owner, even teased the idea of pink-and-turquoise jerseys on Instagram in August 2015. But for reasons both artistic and practical, they knew the "city edition" jersey could not be a simple homage to a television show. Upon learning of the city edition campaign, Brett Maurer, the Heat's graphic designer, sent his five-person team running all over Miami and the surrounding area looking for inspiration, he says. They put together a "mood board" of images and colors that felt most evocative of the city, and of the look they were chasing
There was never going to be a pink court accompanying these new pink jerseys, McCullough and Maurer say. They weren't sure about pink jerseys in the first place. "We were very hesitant about going fully pink," Maurer says. Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra -- old-school souls who care deeply about the Heat's culture, and how outsiders perceive it -- have something approaching veto power on big artistic decisions. Would they go for a bright, screaming pink jersey -- the only pink jersey in the NBA? "We don't have free rein here," McCullough says, laughing. "I get nervous every time I walk through the double doors into the basketball operations side" of the Heat's office.
The Ringer: Nike's Earned Edition jerseys for the #NBA teams that made the playoffs last season have been revealed. Pick your favorite. 📷: @NBAUK pic.twitter.com/RGBGuwI0hB
The back-to-back NBA Champion Golden State Warriors will debut their new Nike NBA Earned Edition Town Gold uniforms on Christmas Day, when the team hosts the Los Angeles Lakers in the first 2018-19 regular-season meeting between the two teams. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. PT on ABC. The Warriors are one of 16 teams around the NBA that will add the Earned Edition jersey to their on-court rotation, and are one of select teams that will debut the new uniforms as part of the NBA’s Christmas Day lineup. The Nike Earned Edition Program, new this season, is an exclusive, on-court look that serves as a reward for the teams who qualified for the NBA Playoffs last season. The Warriors’ Earned Edition jerseys and shorts, which are color variations of the Warriors’ Statement Edition uniforms, aim to supply fans with a tangible claim to both their team’s heritage and current success streak.
Calling on the color palette and unique striping of the uniforms the Bucks wore for the majority of one of the most successful eras in franchise history, from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, comes the 2018-19 Bucks Earned Edition uniform. To be worn for the first time during the Bucks’ matchup with the New York Knicks on Christmas Day, the Nike NBA Earned Edition uniform was awarded by the NBA to the 16 teams that made the 2018 NBA Playoffs. The Bucks will wear their Bucks Earned Edition uniform, which is a variation of the City Edition uniform, four times throughout the upcoming holiday week, including three times at Fiserv Forum on Dec. 27 vs. New York, Dec. 29 vs. Brooklyn and Jan. 1 vs. Detroit, in addition to the Christmas Day game at Madison Square Garden.
Tim Reynolds: As of now, the Heat are scheduled to wear their Vice uniforms tomorrow. If I had to guess, I'll say they will. As Mr. Wade said last night: "I don’t care. You put the jersey on and wear it. It has nothing to do with winning and losing."
Tim Reynolds: Heat are not wearing the Vice uniforms tonight. Organizational decision, changing things up a little bit.
Jared Weiss: Celtics officially unveil this year’s City Edition Jersey. They will debut them on Wednesday 11/21 when the Knicks come to town. pic.twitter.com/l4yCSw6d7z
When Tyus Jones first heard that the Minnesota Timberwolves were designing an alternate jersey in honor of Prince, he knew how important it was that the team and Nike get it right. Jones is 22, too young for Prince's heyday, but he grew up about half an hour from Minneapolis -- Prince's hometown -- and understands the musical superstar's connection to the region and its basketball teams. "Being from here, you know," Jones says. "He's obviously an icon, but he's even more of an icon and a legend here."
They retained at least some of the craziness. The right shoulder features a pattern designed to mimic the studding on one shoulder of the jackets Prince often wore around the 1984 release of "Purple Rain." Coleman wanted to stitch actual studs onto the jerseys, but that proved too complicated, he says. The font in the "Wolves" wordmark echoes the diagonal, jagged style of the lettering on the "Purple Rain" album cover.
The Detroit Pistons announced today the unveiling of their Nike City Edition “Motor City” uniform that will be worn during 18 game dates throughout the 2018-19 regular season. Crafted by Flagstar Bank, the Detroit Pistons’ official jersey partner, the uniforms will debut on November 23 when the club hosts the Houston Rockets at Little Caesars Arena. The Detroit Pistons City Edition uniform ties into the culture of Detroit and offers Pistons fans a limited-edition jersey option at retail. Through collaboration with the NBA and Nike, the Pistons created this uniform based on inspiration from both the automotive culture – Motor City across the front, bold highway-like striping – and also the hard-nosed mentality of the city. The uniform, which has a black base color with gray accents and embellishments, will be accompanied on court with special-edition warm-up apparel.
The Charlotte Hornets today unveiled the City Edition uniform to be worn during the 2018-19 season. The Hornets are scheduled to wear the uniform for the first time on Monday, November 19, when they host the Boston Celtics. The black uniform once again features the phrase “Buzz City” on the chest plate, though the words and uniform numbers are now teal, with black and teal outlines. The player name is entirely in teal. The sides and back of both the jersey and shorts have a gray pattern designed to represent the wings of a hornet. The jersey also includes the phrase “City of Flight” in teal above the jock tag at the bottom left. The waistband of the shorts displays an “H” surrounded by wings similar to those on the original Nike Air Jordan I and II shoes. The team’s secondary logo appears in teal on each leg. A flap appears adjacent to the logo on each side, with the one on the right leg concealing a hidden “CHA.”
Here's more from the Nuggets on the uniforms: In 2018-19, the current update of the City Edition uniform was a joint project between the Denver Nuggets and NIKE. The new design is meant to honor the classic design while modernizing it to fit the Mile High City’s advancement, evolution and modernization that is taking place in the present era. The return of the Rainbow Skyline uniforms marks 25 years since the design was originally retired as the team’s main uniforms. The last time the Nuggets team wore the classic version of the uniform was for a one-night-only special event during Dikembe Mutombo’s jersey retirement ceremony on Oct. 29. 2016. Per the Nuggets, the team will wear the City Edition uniforms seven times this season, with the first game coming on Nov. 13.
The Thunder have a City Edition look that honors the state's Native American heritage. The uniforms are turquoise, which represents the 11th anniversary stone and the native color of friendship. Oklahoma City is in the midst of its 11th season in the state. The "OKC" on the front of the jersey pays homage to the Four Corners as well.
Like last season, the Magic are using a celestial theme for their City Edition uniforms in 2018-19. This season's edition features a shimmery cosmic look and feel and the jerseys have more of a black tone than the blue and black look from last season. The Orlando Magic unveiled its “City Edition” uniform today. The City Edition uniform uses a celestial theme as the central focus to encourage and inspire fans to "reach for the stars."
The Crossover: Bulls City Edition uniform.
On November 17, the Brooklyn Nets will take the court in their Notorious B.I.G. inspired City Edition alternatives. The all-back uniform features a “Brooklyn camo” pattern along the trim of both the jersey and shorts that’s an obvious nod to Biggie’s colorful Coogi sweaters he wore during his days dominating the charts in the 90s. We’ll spare you any corny "Juicy" or “Hypnotize” references, but when images of the jersey first leaked on social media let’s just say it was a hit. “I wish we could wear it more than 16 times,” Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie told us.
What was your reaction when you first saw the jersey? Dinwiddie: I thought the jersey was dope. I actually just saw it officially in person for the first time [Tuesday]. I know it got leaked on social media but, nah man, I wish we could wear it more than 16 times. Did you guys have any hint that this is what Nike was going to go with for the City Edition jerseys this year? Dinwiddie: I didn’t know. I wasn’t privy to that information. I heard they were going to do some Biggie stuff with the City jersey, but that was it.
The Timberwolves this morning sent out a news release for a “major business announcement” taking place Thursday at Paisley Park — Prince’s sprawling Chanhassen estate.
While nothing has been officially confirmed by the team, I’m told the Wolves will be unveiling a new Prince-themed uniform to be worn on select occasions. The unveiling, which is not open to the public, is set for 10 a.m. Thursday.
But the thing works. It gets better every time you look at it. Gray jerseys are rare enough in the NBA that this one stands out. The flourishes of color -- red-white-and-blue striping, blue shadow behind the jersey numbers -- bring almost double the usual flair because of how starkly they pop against that gray. The stripes work as a reference to both the Sixers' history-based identity, and the patriotic boxing trunks Apollo Creed and then Rocky Balboa wore across several films. Players like them. The team had a few players wear the jerseys, and re-enact scenes from the movies to include in promotional material. Ben Simmons posed in a local boxing gym. Robert Covington ran some of the route Rocky traced in training sequences -- including the city's famed Italian Market. Best of all: T.J. McConnell in a gray sweat suit, standing in a real-life, freezing-cold meat locker, hands wrapped in bloody tape.
They tried reworking Ballin' Ben so that he would stand in Rocky's celebratory pose, arms over head, hands balled up in firsts. They decided to stick with the same Ben. They also plopped a "76" onto the bottom of the shorts, and a small blue "Philadelphia, USA" above the official NBA/Nike tag. Unfold the right vent at the bottom of the shorts, and you'll find the famous Revolutionary-era "join or die" snake that adorned center court during playoff games last season -- and will again this time around.
The new "City" uniform -- the one replacing those grey jerseys -- will reportedly be dark blue, perhaps a nod to the shade used in the popular blue alternate jerseys from the first LeBron era. It's not clear if the team will use "The Land" again on the jerseys -- my guess is it won't -- but the ensemble will feature some sort of ode to the city whether it's another nickname, a landmark or symbol. The team also wore blue during their Price-Daugherty-Nance glory days of the late 1980s, though the shade was more of a navy blue.
Washington’s football team uses a slur for its nickname. Cleveland’s baseball team uses a demeaning caricature for a logo. Even the teams that use Native American nicknames more honorably rarely started out that way. The Thunder could be onto a new chapter – a professional sports team that uses Native American imagery positively from the onset.
The Memphis Grizzlies today unveiled their refreshed identity system on grizzlies.com which marks the newest evolution of the team’s brand since 2004 and includes three newly designed Nike uniforms and two new courts at FedExForum along with a reimagined logo, icon and wordmark system.
In addition, the team announced FedEx as the Memphis Grizzlies’ first-ever Jersey Sponsor. FedEx will be integrated into all jersey editions for players on-court and fans purchasing the new uniforms at Grizzlies-controlled retail locations.
Peter Edmiston: Statement Edition uniform, note the FedEx logo is different and the piping is only on one leg
Sole Collector: First look at LeBron's new Lakers jersey: trib.al/GyobUdq pic.twitter.com/kClo5tYHp3
Whitney Medworth: modell's tweeted these lakers jerseys and then deleted them. it's looking like showtime is back.
Denver Nuggets: 🔥🔥🔥 #EVOLVE2018
Tonight, the Denver Nuggets unveiled an evolved brand identity that includes a new color palette, five distinct modern logos and three updated uniforms at a VIP event at Dairy Block in downtown Denver. During halftime of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Nuggets executives, players and coaches were on-site to reveal the updated look that captures the evolution of both the city of Denver and the team.
T.J. McBride: Sources have confirmed to @MileHighSports that the Denver Nuggets will be changing their branding and uniforms sometime this offseason. By next year you can expect a near overhaul of the team's current branding. The Nuggets themselves have been very tight lipped about this change and I have not been able to confirm any differences that there may or may not be. Regardless, the Nuggets branding and uniforms will be looking different next season.
Want a uniform to represent Miami’s vibrant and colorful reputation? You’re going to love the Heat’s new Nike “City Edition” uniforms. The Heat unveiled the Miami Vice-themed uniform that includes jerseys with pink, black and powder blue accents on Tuesday, and it didn’t disappoint.
The Heat will debut the new look Thursday when they take on the Sacramento Kings at AmericanAirlines Arena. In addition, a full Miami Vice-themed Heat merchandise line, which includes t-shirts and hats, will be available to the public starting at midnight. The uniform features the word “Miami” written in the original Miami Arena script across the chest and it’s “inspired by Heat history and Miami in the 1980s.”
