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As a person intrigued by fashion, the uniforms worn by each team is something that I look forward to every year. From the throwbacks that resurrect a feeling of nostalgia with older fans, to the alternates that spice up the team’s typical uniforms, and finally the jerseys for Chinese New Year, Latin Nights, Christmas Day and so-on serve to celebrate a particular holiday or event.
There were some solid uni’s on display this past year, but some very bad ones as well. The Washington Wizards home uniform is just horrendous. There are so many stripes and things going on, they look like a U.S. flag on acid. One can only pray that Kanye West and Wale can save these miserable threads. And let’s not forget about the Cavaliers dreadful poop red and mustard jerseys. ‘The King’ deserves to don something much better than that.
In a culture that’s become so focused on the bad, I’d rather spend some time talking about the uniforms from this past year that appealed to my set of pupils, so here they are.
Honorable Mention:
Oklahoma City Thunder ‘Pride’
These uniforms are sleek and I think the use of the Thunder’s logo as opposed to their name complements the rest of the uniform well. It fills up more space and gives the jersey more personality. Not to mention, the blue collar gives it an extra splash of flavor.
5. Orlando Magic ‘Pride’
These were my second favorite new uniforms from this past year, keyword new. Orlando incorporates the pinstripe into this uniform, which is typical to the other jerseys they wear. The grey base and Kentucky blue go together like peanut butter and jelly. The blue and white collar gives it an extra pop, and the blue stripes on the sides take some attention away from the sleeves. Well-done Orlando.
4. Indiana Pacers ‘Flo Jo’s’
The Pacers donned these uniforms for seven years, from 1990-97. When I see these I immediately think of Reggie Miller torching my Knicks. The uni’s have an interesting background story to them.
The name derives from Olympian Florence Griffith Joyner (hence ‘Flo-Jos’) who won gold medals in the Seoul Olympics and became a fashion designer after that (the entire story can be read here). Her designs served as the inspiration for this uniform.
The two solid stripes going down the side with the race car type numbering is perfect for a racing state like Indiana (home to the Indianapolis 500).
3. Portland Trailblazers ‘Rip City’
The only things new about these uniforms are the sleeves, but I’m yet to get tired of ‘em. They blend the lettering from the ‘Bill Walton era’ uniforms with the city’s nickname, originally coined by legendary Blazers announcer Bill Schonely (accidentally, in fact).
The numbers on the jerseys have been signature to the Blazers for years now. This uniform is a solid combination of old school lettering with new school numbering and style, with the sleeves.
2. Brooklyn Nets/New York Nets Hybrid
I absolutely love these uniforms. I was hesitant to put this number one, but another uniform struck a certain chord with my youth, so I put those ahead instead. The biggest knock on the home/away Brooklyn Nets uniforms is that they’re boring, but I like that they pay homage to the city’s traditions.
Similar to the ‘Rip City’ jerseys, these uniforms blend the new look with the old. It adds some sizzle to the typical Brooklyn Nets lettering and numbering with the stars and stripes going down the side.
These make me reminisce of Julius Erving (whom I was too young to watch unfortunately) and the mid 2000’s when the New Jersey Nets rocked the New York Nets retros with Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson.
Speaking of Vince Carter…
1. Toronto Raptors ‘Dino’
This uniform is my favorite. I grew up a hugeeeee Vince Carter fan, thus I watched plenty of Raptors games. I was a youngin’ when these were around, so obviously I loved them even more because I loved dinosaurs too!
Though the purple is a bit much, the raptor is red and ferocious and the silver pinstripe type thing reminds me of the barb wiring from Jurassic Park for some reason.
I mean, they’re definitely not pretty to look at. Honestly, they look like a toddler designed them, which is probably why I love them so much.
Here are some highlights of the great ‘Vinsanity’ in these uniforms: