kolob

6 minutes ago, Discogod said:

Here's the article I'm assuming Octodude was talking about, from the May 16 1994 Toronto Star:

 

 

And to get somewhat back on topic, here's another story about the original Raptors unis, which had a few tweaks before they hit the court (most notably, removing red accents from the letters and removing the "Toronto" from the logo:

 

Both of these articles came from the pinned thread about logo & uni news stories at the top of this forum, a fantastic thread to pore through if you've a spare hour or six.

I do remember that 'TORONTO' on the jerseys at their unveiling. I'm going to dig for a better and colored picture of it. But, I do remember that as a kid. Great info!

I love these quirky one season jerseys worn by the Mavericks.

The first being the blue jersey in their inaugural season (1980-81). The following year they switched to green in the same design.

Then in 1991-92 the Mavericks switched to a blocked number and font in green. They wore this one season before switching to the familiar blue version in 1992-93. 

39 minutes ago, Sodboy13 said:

This thread is wonderful, and it's unbelievable that we don't have an NBA uniform database like we do for the NHL, NFL, and MLB.

I agree. I would be the first one to jump on that, but I am not that good at Illustrator and Photoshop as many are on this board.

1 hour ago, Discogod said:

I'm pretty sure the Knicks changed their home unis to the classic version the year before they changed the road unis. That kind of thing was fairly common back then, right up to the early 80s.

 

I actually thought it was common knowledge that the Bullets wore orange at home. For a long time (pre-internet) I thought they only had 1 uniform set that they used both at home and on the road, because they were wearing the orange unis in every picture I saw.

I guess I just never put the two together? I just kind of assumed it might have been a case of the plethora of double headers the NBA played in the 60s and early 70s so they brought one set with them?

Interesting piece on the Baltimore Bullets' 1968-69 home orange jersey. I didn't know that their orange jersey was designated as the home jersey. Makes sense with all of the color vs. color photos I've seen featuring the Bullets.  

I had this picture (that they shared too) in my archives of a color vs. color against the Knicks. This features Walt Frazier as well ... whom, I believe never wore this jersey in the regular season? I can't confirm that 100%. But, I am assuming this might be the preseason?

NOTE: Check out those socks on Unseld! WOW! 

11 hours ago, SabresRule7361 said:

 

Penny Hardaway's last season in Orlando wearing a uni he's not associated with. You think of him in Orlando and the pinstriped unis, not that.

Yeah, that will always be T-Mac for me.

5 hours ago, goalieboy82 said:

was it a real name the team contest or some sham of a contest like the Bullets to Wizards naming contest (if i remember right, Abe Pollin's wife like the name Wizards).  

 

 

I am sure it was a nomination for Top 10 list and then the marketing teams in Toronto and the NBA went from there. It seems like most recent expansion teams have gone that route (sans the Bobcats).

This Mental Floss article is a good collection of how teams got their names. And, it seems like a number of them have drawn out names for prizes, etc. 

28 minutes ago, Germanshepherd said:

Andrew Bogut, a Cavalier for 58 seconds. 

Sadly, my thoughts exactly. 

I'm sure some of these photos have been posted of Dominique Wilkins, but it's something I'll never get used to ...

It's like you can see 'Nique get sadder and sadder over the years he left Atlanta.

I love wide-angled shots of old arenas. 

The MECCA in Milwaukee

Madison Square Garden III; New York City

4 hours ago, Discogod said:

 

The thing I love most about this throwback game was that it was played in Baltimore in Baltimore Bullets. 

It's hard to find a picture of Rick Barry in a home Rockets jersey from his two year stint in Houston. But, I always loved that he wore different numbers. #2 for home games and #4 for road games, because his usual #24 was worn by Moses Malone. 

Here's a Knicks-Bullets game from the old Madison Square Garden. The caption noted this was taken between 1950-1952 so this is obviously the first version of the Baltimore Bullets that folded in 1952. Not sure why they folded, but I'm sure their sleeved jerseys had a lot to do with it.

5 hours ago, Discogod said:

Odd numbers on the '97 Bullets (this was changed before the regular season started):

 

 

I noticed this on a number of preseason jerseys in the NBA in the mid-90s. The Jazz had white numbers in 94 or 95 -- and I believe Pistons did as well. I'l have to dig and see if I can find anything.

9 hours ago, The Giant Pacific Octopus said:

 

The winning entry was a little girl. I remember it specifically. I remember the Toronto Star article and I remember them announcing it and discussing it on the Fan 590. I don't know if the Fan 590 has archives of their old shows but you should contact their website and inquire.

What I'm saying is that girl wasn't the sole person who suggested Raptors ... it was one of the ten names from 2000 suggestions. From what I've read and found it seems like she just won a drawing of those suggested names. But, there were more factors than just her suggestions -- popularity of the the movie, dinosaurs at the time, focus groups, etc. 

On 3/3/2017 at 8:58 AM, The Giant Pacific Octopus said:

Despite the stupid logo, the name Toronto Towers is alot better than Toronto Raptors. No-one knew what a raptor was until Jurassic Park, and the winning entry was sent in by a little girl!

 

I'm pretty sure it wasn't the little girl who named the team. There was a contest of over 2,000 suggestions and Raptors was one in 10 that were considered. I'm looking for record of the girl winning the contest, but I'm sure it was a drawing of a few hundred suggestions like how most of these contest end up being.

I found this from the official Raptors page: http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/behindthename_081606.html

Here are a few things I found in regards to the Sonics ...

The first couple seasons of the iconic Sonics arch uniforms featured different style #2s -- with slanted 2s on the road and block on the home jerseys. Also note the shorts numbers are both slanted. Also the logo on the road shorts would be reversed later in the 80s to match the home version.

Small abnormality ... Gus Williams' #1 in the Bill Russell jerseys is pretty small compared to the regular numbers on the other jerseys. It seems like it was this way for a good chunk of the season in 1978. 

Not sure if this is the preseason or not? But, Quintin Dailey's #20 is white with a gold outline instead of the other way around. Interesting nonetheless.

A blank #25 jersey worn by Jack Sikma -- I am assuming his #43 was lost, stolen or forgotten. I'm sure what the story is behind it or if it was during the Finals? But, I doubt that with all the blue seats in the background.

A fun photo of the Sonics' lone full-season in the Tacoma Dome (1994-95) while the Coliseum was renovated. They played a number of other games throughout the years at the Tacoma Dome, but I haven't found any pictures of those games. 

22 hours ago, ImmortalChef said:

NBA all star game in the Houston Astrodome, circa. 1989

Here's another dome layout for basketball for the Kingdome.

3 minutes ago, Discogod said:

 

The Knicks went from the classic championship units to the navy-and-maroon set, then back a few years later.

That is true. Though the shorts did go through some various changes if I recall correctly (ie-Yankees NY, Yankee NY in apple logo, etc.). 

Seems like a New York thing with the Islanders, Giants and Jets doing the same thing.

And, I guess you can add the Rangers in there too after going to the shield logo for a few seasons.

1 hour ago, KittSmith_95 said:

 

Image from 1977, not sure when. Just had to get in a pic of one of the most underrated players ever in John Havlicek. 

That's a DISGUSTING looking cake? I hope they didn't pay more than $5 for it. HAHA!

2 hours ago, chrispw12 said:

I found this photo of Larry Brown on the Nets sideline with the Nets in the stars and stripes uniform although they made the switch to the cursive style uniforms before switching back after he left for Kansas

Speaking of the Nets. Are there any other teams in the NBA that ditched one design for another before coming back to the SAME design? And, I am not talking about the Jazz note logo because that jersey was modernized.

Okay, one more the day ...

This is really interesting and odd. I am trying to figure out the date. It's obviously the 1980-81 (because of the 35th anniversary patch), but I am not sure if it's during the Rockets-Celtics game on December 19th, 1980 during the regular season or the NBA Finals? I am assuming it's the regular season?

But, pay attention to Calvin Murphy's jersey. It's a generic red and white jersey -- no gold as you can see on the hiding Rudy T in the background. It also has an arched 'HOUSTON' on the front with a blocked #23 on the front.

I am assuming his jersey was lost? I tried researching it some online and couldn't find any articles on a missing jersey, etc. for the 1980 dates I found for this game. I guess I am putting this out there in hopes anyone else can shed light on it?

17 hours ago, ImmortalChef said:

NBA all star game in the Houston Astrodome, circa. 1989

Sorry for all the posts, but there's a lot of content I've found and want to share! But, Astrodome was going through renovations when the All-Star Game was played there. You can see the construction in the background of this shot. I do wonder if that was a factor in this layout?

17 hours ago, ImmortalChef said:

NBA all star game in the Houston Astrodome, circa. 1989

Here is a great shot of the Superdome set up for a New Orleans Jazz game. Compared to Astrodome's All-Star set up it's more spectator friendly.