NBA Changes 2020/21

[SFGiants58]

25 minutes ago, mgfoxx said:

FFS.

I’m doing a bit. It’s been 40+ years of the Utah Jazz. No need to “give it back” now.

[OaklandIsBack]

53 minutes ago, mgfoxx said:

 

Honestly, are any of these besides the red rocks good uniforms/identities? And even if you’re not a fan of the red rocks, it’s the only thing here with any real potential. So Utah should embrace it or do something original, which obviously runs counter to the “too many identities” argument 

 

edit: regarding the name and New Orleans, obviously it makes more sense for N.O., but I don’t think “New Orleans Jazz” is a great name. The difference is length/syllables between the city and nickname throws it off. Also, I’m not really a fan of nicknames going back to an old city. It only worked for Charlotte because Bobcats was such a bad name (and franchise)

[-Akronite-]

2 hours ago, Haz_Matt said:

The color on one leg only is a nod to the Stockton/Malone mountain jerseys which also only had designs on one leg

 

Ah, well I can appreciate the attempt at homage even if I still think it'd look better on both.

 

43 minutes ago, OaklandIsBack said:

Honestly, are any of these besides the red rocks good uniforms/identities? And even if you’re not a fan of the red rocks, it’s the only thing here with any real potential. So Utah should embrace it or do something original, which obviously runs counter to the “too many identities” argument 

 

edit: regarding the name and New Orleans, obviously it makes more sense for N.O., but I don’t think “New Orleans Jazz” is a great name. The difference is length/syllables between the city and nickname throws it off. Also, I’m not really a fan of nicknames going back to an old city. It only worked for Charlotte because Bobcats was such a bad name (and franchise)

 

I'd say the classic purple Jazz note is a great identity, but the colors are very New Orleans. The mountain jerseys have some brand potential but they are certainly dated. I like (but don't quite love) the modern branding though the alts have been mostly forgettable or just bad until the red rocks.

 

Utah has been the Jazz long enough that changing isn't necessary, but if they built their ID around the red rocks I feel like they might as well toss the name because they have pretty much no association. At least when they went to the mountains the Jazz name was central to the branding, with an iconic (if not all that great) wordmark. But eh, the NBA is letting teams create alternate palettes at this point and Utah can own both the note and the rocks.

[kimball]

1 hour ago, mgfoxx said:

FFS. Anyways, put me in the minority of Jazz fans who enjoys the multiple color schemes. I logically understand how some view it as diluting the brand, but I love the Jazz rainbow. 

I'm in the same camp. I love the different looks. I like that you can identify each part of franchise history and superstar by the different unique jersey elements. The Maravich and NOLA era and the white lettering on the road purples, the AD and Griffith road jerseys of the early 80s. The gold lettering on the purple roads with Stockton and Malone with an emerging powerhouse. The mountain jerseys of the Finals teams. The D-Will and Boozer era with the double blue look. The Hayward and the navy blue note logo jerseys. And, then now the Mitchell/Gobert era that I identify with the red rock jerseys more than anything else. 
 

Is the brand diluted? Yeah, sure, probably? But, the differences and changes easily tell a story of the franchise and I don’t hate that. 
 

NOTE: The only jersey or look I’ve hated is the stupid mountain jerseys. The only reason there’s love for them is pure nostalgia.

[Digby]

A thought I’m having is that Utah is so immensely geographically varied — as evidenced by the original idea that their City jerseys would rotate through different parts, and that their last version of a locally-referenced brand was about snowy peaks and not red canyons — maybe going full time red rocks wouldn’t be appropriate for that reason. They do play in SLC, not Moab.

 

OTOH maybe that’s how you embrace the Skittles look formally, figure out a way to tie together all the disparate Utah geographies into a full jersey set and brand.

[kimball]

3 hours ago, O.C.D said:

I've never understood why the Jazz decided to switch and incorporate navy blue during the D-Wil era. That color scheme was out of character. Seemed to be inspired by them wanting to look like other franchises. Since then they've tried to hold on to navy and it has always seemed forced. From what you're saying it seems to be the least popular color among local fans as well.

 

I'd love to know who in the organization is responsible for the insistence on navy

I believe that was Adidas? It was purely for the money because blue was in the “in” color back in 2004, that’s why you see a lot of double blue teams like the Jazz, Orlando, Dallas, Denver, etc. during that era.

[kerlonmoura]

Such a shame that the presence of the Nike logo has ruined the Lakers retros. The Los Angeles script should be way higher, look at how empty the right side is:

 

 

Now compare it with the original version and the previous remake. I know the cut of the jerseys also play a factor here, but it is really noticeable compared to these:

 

 

[truepg]

9 hours ago, Delicate Genius said:

 

This is a gorgeous uniform. Shame about what the Celtics were wearing.

Love the Pacers' City uniforms, one of the few exceptionally successful designs that should stay. And finally Pacers looked like the Pacers again, it's been a while. They should also adopt this lighter shade of blue and drop the navy (along with some other teams), which was apparently a popular widespread trend color of its time and isn't any relevant nor looks interesting anymore, only very tired and dull.

And yes, the Celtics' look like low-end practice uniforms. Both cases were clear from the unveiling.

[Krz]

I am actually really liking the Celtics uniforms. It connects to their history, and doesn’t use any weird/unnecessary colors. Much more interesting than their first and second city jersey, and more team specific than their last city jersey. 

[upperV03]

6 hours ago, kerlonmoura said:

Such a shame that the presence of the Nike logo has ruined the Lakers retros. The Los Angeles script should be way higher, look at how empty the right side is:

 

 

Now compare it with the original version and the previous remake. I know the cut of the jerseys also play a factor here, but it is really noticeable compared to these:

 

 

Definitely some small flaws in the execution, but they’re still fun to see. As a Blazers fan, I have a strong dislike for the Lakers, but these throwbacks are one of my favorite uniforms in NBA history. Love the royal and powder combo, and that script is beautiful too. 

[Digby]

The Celtics' city jersey still doesn't work for me; it looks too generic, like a cut-and-paste practice jersey. Especially with the double-stack wordmark. All that looks fine given the historical context of the banners but that's lost in jersey form. I guess the classic athletic block font, to me, is as integral to the Celtics look as kelly green is.

[tscuzzy]

I am exhausted trying to keep up with all these uniforms... 

 

Good example of the chaos that Nike has instilled: on MLK day this year the Rockets play in Chicago against the Bulls. The Bulls are wearing their black city uniform and the Rockets will be in white and red, essentially looking like the Bulls from far away to the casual fan. What's funny is that any of the other options for the Rockets don't really work either. The red and black uniform would look like the Bulls, the black uniform can't be used bc the Bulls are in black, and the Rockets city uniform is powder blue, white, and red... coincidentally colors of the Chicago flag.

 

 

 

 

Rockets really need to add another accent color like yellow. There are too many red/black/white teams now. Houston, Toronto, Chicago, Portland are too homogenous. Rockets would look most similar to new Hawks unis if they added more yellow , but this has some historical accuracy at least - those two teams had the same color scheme for much of their history. As a Rockets fan who loves the Hakeem era look, I'm very jealous of those new Hawks unis.

 

 

[CS85]

5 minutes ago, tscuzzy said:

I am exhausted trying to keep up with all these uniforms... 

 

Pretty much this right here.  I feel like the NBA's left me so far behind in terms of uniforms that there's no point anymore.  Before long teams will have 16-20 uniforms available to them with hundreds of combinations and all of them will be littered with ads.  It seems clear there's a lot of NBA fans that love having 1,000 uniforms in any given year, ads be damned, so the league is happily going down a path which I cannot follow.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

8 minutes ago, CS85 said:

 

Pretty much this right here.  I feel like the NBA's left me so far behind in terms of uniforms that there's no point anymore.  Before long teams will have 16-20 uniforms available to them with hundreds of combinations and all of them will be littered with ads.  It seems clear there's a lot of NBA fans that love having 1,000 uniforms in any given year, ads be damned, so the league is happily going down a path which I cannot follow.

 

Feels worse than a video game, at this point. It's fun that in 2K and Madden you can choose the uniform, but those options feel presented with some modicum of restraint. Not so in the NBA anymore!

 

I do wonder how long this goes though. It can't be for forever, right? There will always be a few new uniforms each season, but we can't possibly keep the past of 60+ new uniforms every year?

[CS85]

23 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

Feels worse than a video game, at this point. It's fun that in 2K and Madden you can choose the uniform, but those options feel presented with some modicum of restraint. Not so in the NBA anymore!

 

I do wonder how long this goes though. It can't be for forever, right? There will always be a few new uniforms each season, but we can't possibly keep the past of 60+ new uniforms every year?

 

Bubbles burst, and the NBA's enjoying a resurgence after a mixed decade ruined mostly by the Heatles.  I don't know how things could ever go back since the bell has been rung, but we shall see.  I have no faith in the league to rein things in.

[CaliforniaGlowin]

1 hour ago, tscuzzy said:

Rockets really need to add another accent color like yellow. There are too many red/black/white teams now. Houston, Toronto, Chicago, Portland are too homogenous.

 

 

 

*ahem* Miami *ahem*

[CaliforniaGlowin]

Brooklyn gray vs. Memphis light blue tonight!

[FinsUp1214]

4 hours ago, tscuzzy said:

I am exhausted trying to keep up with all these uniforms... 

 

I feel the same way, as well as frustrated that branding across the league is becoming more and more convoluted. It’s easily the worst of the big-4 now.

 

I’ve even noticed that broadcasters are talking more and more about this during games. Among other examples, last week during the Lakers/Mavs game, Van Gundy and Breen said something along the lines of “teams have so many colors now that it’s hard to tell who’s who sometimes” after cutting back from a game break.
 

It’s easy to be dismissive with responses like “look at the scoreboard duh” or “it’s not that hard”, but if people whose occupation is watching and calling these games week after week are acknowledging that they can’t keep up with the uniforms either, then I’d say that concerns on the matter are justified.
 

I imagine the league doesn’t mind if the uniforms are getting any kind of press at all and certainly if stuff is selling, but therein lies what unsettles me the most: the league isn’t budging on this expanded uniform program despite some glaring flaws, and money/exposure is probably going to keep talking louder than said flaws for the foreseeable future.

[Digby]

2 minutes ago, CaliforniaGlowin said:

Brooklyn gray vs. Memphis light blue tonight!

 

All the problems of the worst color-vs-color matchup but with minimal saturation. Yeehaw.

[dont care]

1 hour ago, CaliforniaGlowin said:

Brooklyn gray vs. Memphis light blue tonight!

You say that like it’s a good looking matchup. It’s not.