My Take on the NBA's Uniform System: Team Matchups *Requests are open*

[Coiler]

The Northern Lights Timberwolves jersey looks absolutely gorgeous!

[-Akronite-]

Really like both Nuggets and TWolves here. Emphasizing their most iconic elements (skyline jersey, tree trim respectively) gives sense to their identity.

[colinturner95]

Hand Drawn Association/Icon Alternate(s) (Jersey Model: Russell Westbrook  | Players Still With Team: 6/18)

 

 

Association-Icon: If it was up to me, this team wouldn't be in shades of blue. If it was up to me, this team wouldn't be playing in Oklahoma City. If it was up to me, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would have delivered the Supersonics their second championship. Okay that last one is a bit more subjective. But as you can see, I'm not in control of a lot of these things. Like my Supersonics staying in Seattle.

 

My soliloquy aside, the Thunder are in deep need of something new.  First and foremost, yellow is relegated to staying on the logo. It's one less colors the uniforms have to work in.  Now this is my personal opinion (as a lot of these opinions are in this thread) but the current Statement jersey is the best uniform the Thunder have had, and as such, it formed the basis for the new uniforms. For the Association/Icons, the side panels run the length of the uniform and now end in a lightning bolt because... . The tonal gradient pattern now is colored in the two shades of blue within the side panels. Now I know I have my thing about putting nickname on Assoc. and city/state identifier on the Icon. But putting the whole Oklahoma City did not look good. At all. 

 

Statement: Like I said, the Statement jersey might be the best jersey the Thunder have had, and so I wanted to keep it, but not quite as is. I got rid of the offset in the OKC lettering. The gradient in this one is tonal like it is on the IRL jersey. Beyond that, a lot of the bones of this uniform stayed pretty much the same. 

 

Loud City: To my knowledge so far, this is the only team I've done that all four uniforms have some form of continuity between them. The current City jersey baffles me. Just trying to figure it out and what it means. As someone I think in the NBA thread said that with the Loves patch on there, it really looks like a generic gas station jersey. So in this universe, this one is navy, with very similar appearance to the current City jersey but taking in the design cues from the new Association/Icon jerseys. 

 

 

C&C welcome!

 

[sky1324]

Love love love those Northern Lights jerseys! The colors are great and the little nod to the North Stars is awesome! I like the others as well, the return of the tree striping is a welcome one.

 

The Thunder are nice as well, I like the panels a lot.

[29texan]

On 8/14/2021 at 12:41 PM, colinturner95 said:

 

Association-Icon: If it was up to me, this team wouldn't be in shades of blue. If it was up to me, this team wouldn't be playing in Oklahoma City. If it was up to me, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would have delivered the Supersonics their second championship. Okay that last one is a bit more subjective. But as you can see, I'm not in control of a lot of these things. Like my Supersonics staying in Seattle.

 

 

I have nothing to say about the uniforms since literally anything is better than the generic ones the Thunder has in real life. 

I just want to say that when it comes to the Seattle Sonics bit... I feel ya. 

[colinturner95]

Hand Drawn Association/Icon Alternate(s) (Jersey Model: Damian Lillard  | Players Still With Team: 7/19)

 

 

Association-Icon: if any team has made the sash look good, in any sport really, it's Portland. So to that end, I really didn't feel that I needed to mess with a good thing. Only thing that changes on the jerseys is the small grey stripe on the arms and neck goes away. Just didn't feel like it was needed. The shorts see a little more change. I went back to an angular stripe, like from the *shudders* dreaded sleeved jersey experiments. It just felt more natural to me, with the movement of the stripe on the jersey, and I know that traditionally the shorts have been asymmetric, but it looked off to me, so it's on both sides. 

 

Statement: Again, didn't see a reason to mess with a good thing. This time, the grey is lightened for more contrast and Portland is replaced with Rip City. Also the shorts match with the changes the previous two jerseys did. 

 

Heritage: Okay I know that they just recently did a similar thing a season ago, but I just loved the color combination with the vintage white coloring, so if this became a regular thing, I'd be 100% okay with it. Anyways, while they have yet to win a championship in the sash uniforms, the sash that is used on this uniform is directly lifted from the uniform they did win a 'chip in. Retro Blazers wordmark with a block font for the numbers and NOB. The shorts got a little more interesting, with the stripes now sitting on the top 1/3 of the shorts. This was done as an homage to the inaugural red uniforms, which you can get a sense of here. 

 

 

 

C&C welcome!

 

I must warn you about what is coming next...

 

traditionalists, you've been warned... 

 

[vtgco]

I keep meaning to comment on this series; I don't know why I haven't yet, because this is some pretty cool stuff!

 

While I still think I like their IRL shorts striping better, your take on the Blazers' shorts is a cool one. I feel like that cream alt jersey has a nice old-timey vibe with the black/red striping pattern that reminds me of lumberjack plaid, but that horizontal shorts stripe kinda feels awkward and "Turn-Ahead-the-Clock"-esque, and I'd rather see it moved onto the waistband.

 

I dislike the Thunder as much as the next Seattleite, but you've done a good job making them look nicer. That navy alternate is really nice and the color balancing is excellent on the light blue jersey.

I'd suggest you just have the lightning bolt use just one zag instead of two AND/OR decrease the angle of the zags to be closer to horizontal, though, since right now they jut too far out for my taste.

 

The whole Wizards set is really nice, especially those two alts! My only idea might be to go with a white number on that blue alternate, but IDK if that'd be better because honestly it looks beautiful as is.

 

I also think your Pacers jerseys are really creative and pretty too! The use of the state map is really excellently done on both the primary sets and as the number container on that yellow jersey. The fauxback alt is really nice too!

I'm can't decide if the asymmetry on the shorts are great or unnecessary; I might just like standard vertical striping.

My biggest concern, however, is the white outlines bleeding into the yellow text on the blue jersey... I'd just ditch that outline for that jersey. (Same concern applies to the Cavs burgundy jersey, which is otherwise excellent too!)

 

Detroit's alt is really fun! I think I'd rather see the number inside the basketball instead of a "D", the stripe lowered a bit, and the "Pistons" wordmark enlarged.

 

I agree with everyone else; the Timberwolves' aurora alt is gorgeous... And the neon alternate's a solid design... But the two primary jerseys feel off to me. I'm not sure I like the neon and the slate blue touching each other, and I definitely don't like the neon and white touching each other on the trim of the blue jersey. The trees look better on that neon alt, maybe because they don't have a stripe to interact with, so if it were me I'd go with that template for all three jerseys.

 

I'm with you on Toronto looking better in red than purple

But you make the set look good in both color schemes, especially after the update to move the scratch marks to the alternate. My only suggestion would be to go black/white/black for the side-panels on the red jersey instead of white/black/white.

 

Also, just in general, I feel like the back numbers are too low on the jersey for my taste... But otherwise the templates/presentations are solid.

 

Anyways, thanks for reading my nitpicks. Keep up the good work!

[colinturner95]

Hand Drawn Association/Icon Alternate(s) (Jersey Model: Donovan Mitchell  | Players Still With Team: 8/20)

 

 

Association - Icon: Look I told y'all that some weird sh!t was coming. So how'd we get to these? Well for starters, purple unseats navy as a primary color. In a division where 3 other teams wear a shade of blue, it just made sense. I also brought the lighter shade of green back from the late 70's/early 80's. But how did we arrive at a jersey with two offset stripes on the front of a basketball jersey, split by a basketball-music note? Well I was a big fan of the sleeved Utah jerseys, you know, these?  And I wanted to get those on here somewhere, some how. And really that's how it came to be. The shorts take a stripe from the chest and run it down the side, ending above the Utah state logo. 

 

Statement: A slightly more tame jersey that moves the stripes up to the shoulders and gets rid of the wordmarks in the top of the note and replaces them with stripes. On the shorts, the stripes on the sides go away and move to the hem. 

 

Wasatch: I told y'all the Redrock jerseys were getting retired. I didn't say anything about retiring the design they used. If the Redrock jerseys were a way to honor more of the southern parts of the state, then this jersey is a way to honor the snowy northern parts of Utah and capture some of the charm of the 90's uniforms everyone loves. So these work with a similar block gradient that goes from navy to purple to light blue, ending above the mountain design from the 90's. The shorts work in a similar way, this time with the pattern contained in the mountains themselves. 

 

 

C&C welcome!

 

[MDTrey4]

That offset stripe is such a good idea. Very unique for the NBA. I also love the recoloring of the Redrock uniform. I never considered the way you put as the Southern Utah vs Northern Utah tributes.

[sky1324]

Yeah, uh, I'm not sure this set is for me, haha. Love the switch back to the old colors, not a fan of the offset stripes. Unique for sure, but the Jazz already had a unique thing with the J-note wordmark. I do really like the mountain jersey, that's honestly what I hope they do after they retire the Red Rocks theme.

[jstogasterisk]

It makes me long for the jazz to be back in New Orleans. So good 

[colinturner95]

Hand Drawn Association/Icon Alternate(s) (Jersey Model: Steph Curry  | Players Still With Team: 9/21)

 

 

Association - Icon: I personally don't have much to complain about with the current state of the Warriors uniforms. I think for what they are, they work, but I definitely feel as though they could be better. The biggest thing for me is the side panels on the jerseys. They feel somewhat useless to me. I don't know if there's historical significance to them but I don't like em. Now if you can believe it, the sleeved jerseys are still making their presence known. The side panels now are a triple stripe and end in an arrow, very similar to how the sleeved jerseys did.  The bridge on the shorts sticks around on the other side with a similar triple stripe above it. Also I restored the yellow circle on the blue jerseys. 

 

Statement: Not too far off of the Association and Icon uniforms in all honesty, but a slightly different take on "The Bay", "The Town," "The City", which ever one they are this week. Instead of a circle with the unclear location moniker, this jersey has a script 'The Bay" on the chest, with a subtle visage of the Bay Bridge (it's the Bay Bridge right?) on the lower half of the jersey. Other wise, the shorts are a two color version of the regular shorts. 

 

Classic: With 3 already, somewhat, kinda out there uniforms, it felt like going back to a simpler time was a good call. If GSW had to modernize a classic or go back to a classic look, I'd vote for these and while the yellow ones have already been done, and I could be wrong on this, but the blue trolley car uniforms haven't been done as a throwback (?). 

 

 

C&C appreciated! 

 

[Indigo]

1 hour ago, colinturner95 said:

Hand Drawn Association/Icon Alternate(s) (Jersey Model: Steph Curry  | Players Still With Team: 9/21)

 

 

Association - Icon: I personally don't have much to complain about with the current state of the Warriors uniforms. I think for what they are, they work, but I definitely feel as though they could be better. The biggest thing for me is the side panels on the jerseys. They feel somewhat useless to me. I don't know if there's historical significance to them but I don't like em. Now if you can believe it, the sleeved jerseys are still making their presence known. The side panels now are a triple stripe and end in an arrow, very similar to how the sleeved jerseys did.  The bridge on the shorts sticks around on the other side with a similar triple stripe above it. Also I restored the yellow circle on the blue jerseys. 

 

Statement: Not too far off of the Association and Icon uniforms in all honesty, but a slightly different take on "The Bay", "The Town," "The City", which ever one they are this week. Instead of a circle with the unclear location moniker, this jersey has a script 'The Bay" on the chest, with a subtle visage of the Bay Bridge (it's the Bay Bridge right?) on the lower half of the jersey. Other wise, the shorts are a two color version of the regular shorts. 

 

Classic: With 3 already, somewhat, kinda out there uniforms, it felt like going back to a simpler time was a good call. If GSW had to modernize a classic or go back to a classic look, I'd vote for these and while the yellow ones have already been done, and I could be wrong on this, but the blue trolley car uniforms haven't been done as a throwback (?). 

 

 

C&C appreciated! 

 

I see what you are trying to do, but part of the reason Golden State’s uniforms work so well is the fact that the are simplistic, yet intricate. It looks like you got stuck between emphasizing the area and emphasizing the team name. I would probably just stick with the bridge on both short legs. 
 

Also, they wore the blue throwbacks last year. 

[WSU151]

1 hour ago, colinturner95 said:

Hand Drawn Association/Icon Alternate(s) (Jersey Model: Steph Curry  | Players Still With Team: 9/21)

 

 

Association - Icon: I personally don't have much to complain about with the current state of the Warriors uniforms. I think for what they are, they work, but I definitely feel as though they could be better. The biggest thing for me is the side panels on the jerseys. They feel somewhat useless to me. I don't know if there's historical significance to them but I don't like em. Now if you can believe it, the sleeved jerseys are still making their presence known. The side panels now are a triple stripe and end in an arrow, very similar to how the sleeved jerseys did.  The bridge on the shorts sticks around on the other side with a similar triple stripe above it. Also I restored the yellow circle on the blue jerseys. 

 

Statement: Not too far off of the Association and Icon uniforms in all honesty, but a slightly different take on "The Bay", "The Town," "The City", which ever one they are this week. Instead of a circle with the unclear location moniker, this jersey has a script 'The Bay" on the chest, with a subtle visage of the Bay Bridge (it's the Bay Bridge right?) on the lower half of the jersey. Other wise, the shorts are a two color version of the regular shorts. 

 

 

 

C&C appreciated! 

 

 

I feel like designs that go to the bottom of the basketball jersey are a bit weird because players will cover it up when it's tucked into the shorts. Does it look great for retail? Sure.

But the bridge probably would have to be slighly adjusted upward if you want the entire design shown during the game. 

[colinturner95]

Hand Drawn Association/Icon Alternate(s) (Jersey Model: Danilo Galinari  | Players Still With Team: 9/22)

 

 

Association - Icon: Oh the Los Angeles Clippers. Don't need to rehash the rebrand they thought was a good idea. But to that end, I acted like it really never happened. I did keep the LAC logos, both the standalone and basketball versions. I kept the red around but went back to the lighter blue from the San Diego/Buffalo days. The previous wordmarks return to the jerseys, Clippers for the Association, Los Angeles for the Icon. Nautical flags spelling out LAC on the sides of the jerseys. The shorts, for the life of me, I cannot find the inspiration. Part of me thinks they were inspired by warmup jackets or pants. But I thought they looked like board shorts and that fit in with the Clippers, water, beach iconography of LA. 

 

Statement: a little bit simpler than the previous two. But its a return to a red alternate for the Clips, with LA featured prominently on the chest above the numbers with the arm stripes moving down the sides of the jersey. This moves the nautical flags down to the sides of the shorts, above the stripe which also moves down, flanked on the other side by the sails of a clipper. 

 

Retro Remix: It took me 22 teams to finally figure out what to call these types of jersey without outright calling them "reverse retros". These jerseys take the Buffalo Braves uniforms and really make them Clippers uniforms, with black and orange giving way to light blue and red. A new logo, inspired by the Braves logo, takes its place on the stripes and a broken down version on the shorts. 

 

 

C&C welcome!

 

On 8/31/2021 at 11:36 AM, LA Fakers+ LA Snippers said:

I see what you are trying to do, but part of the reason Golden State’s uniforms work so well is the fact that the are simplistic, yet intricate. It looks like you got stuck between emphasizing the area and emphasizing the team name. I would probably just stick with the bridge on both short legs. 
 

Also, they wore the blue throwbacks last year. 
 

 

I've never had any issues with how Golden State has portrayed where they play, but they don't do a good enough job of portraying the fact that they're the Warriors, not the Bridges. 

 

On 8/31/2021 at 11:44 AM, WSU151 said:

 

I feel like designs that go to the bottom of the basketball jersey are a bit weird because players will cover it up when it's tucked into the shorts. Does it look great for retail? Sure.

But the bridge probably would have to be slighly adjusted upward if you want the entire design shown during the game. 

 

Yeah, I'm still getting used to the fact that basketball jerseys are tucked in. One of those things I have to start remembering. 

[jaytavo305]

Love that color scheme for the clips, stands out so much in a league of traditional blue and red teams. I also loved the nautical light blue sleeved alt from a few years back, so this is a great choice to base the entire set off that great uniform

[Coiler]

Love these Clippers uniforms. Unlike the real ones, they stand out.

[colinturner95]

Hand Drawn Association/Icon Alternate(s) (Jersey Model: Lonzo Ball | Players Still With Team: 9/23)

 

 

Association - Icon: Unlike their Staples Center co-tenants, the Lakers are in need of little to no changes whatsoever. Color squabbles aside, The Nike uniforms have been top notch, at least in my opinion. The only  change that got made was going away from the NBA rounded nameplate font and back to the Showtime era serif font. 

 

Sunday: The only team to not have a Statement jersey because truthfully, they don't need it. For the team that made gold their home jersey, wearing white every now and again was a Statement in and of itself. 

 

Heritage: I didn't think the Lakers needed an out there 4th jersey but I wasn't sure about calling this a Lore Series uniform, so I stuck it under my Heritage banner. Basically, these are what I imagine George Mikan would have worn if the Minneapolis Lakers had moved to LA a few years sooner and went with Forum Blue and Gold just a touch quicker. 

 

 

C&C welcome!

 

 

 

[jaytavo305]

This is a better set than what they wear now (that black side panel on the purple away jersey  is awful), but I still think I prefer the Kobe era set of the 2000s 

[colinturner95]

Hand Drawn Association/Icon Alternate(s) (Jersey Model: Devin Booker | Players Still With Team: 10/24)

 

 

Association - Icon: Not a lot in the way of changes except on the chest. These are what I think the last Adidas set were supposed to do, but really just fell flat. This go around, the whole sunburst comes to play, with the number sitting on the sun. Also of note, all the orange elements on these two uniforms are an orange to yellow gradient. Other than that, I didn't think things needed a whole change. 

 

Statement: A bit of a retro vibe with this one, borrowing heavily from the inaugural set of uniforms but this time in orange. The most major of the changes from the original look is the use of a font that closely matches the wordmark font. 

 

Valley: I don't think that I'm off-base by saying this was one of the most popular uniforms of the past NBA season. Only changes I made to it were an orange Nike/Jumpman logo, changed the NOB font color to white and used the AZ flag on one leg of the shorts. 

 

 

C&C always appreciated!

 

On 9/5/2021 at 12:27 PM, jaytavo305 said:

This is a better set than what they wear now (that black side panel on the purple away jersey  is awful), but I still think I prefer the Kobe era set of the 2000s 

 

My original idea was to basically merge the Kobe and Lebron era uniforms, but it looked cheap. I can't really explain it any better than that but it just didn't look like a Lakers jersey IMO