VyCade's NBA Team Uniform Rework Project (Complete)

[VyCade]

(16/30) Miami Heat

 

Normally, I wouldn't touch gradients, but, for whatever reason,  I felt like it could work with the Heat.  However, using their current color scheme wouldn't really be viable for the main set, so I made it an alt.  As for the primaries, I opted to draw from their old Floridians hardwood classic.  I also took a little from their city uniforms of years past for the other alt, grabbing the chest script and neon blue.  I chose to pair that and the neon pink with gray because I didn't think they looked as good matched up with another color and putting them against black looked too similar to the normal kit.

 

[johne9109]

3 hours ago, VyCade said:

(16/30) Miami Heat

 

Normally, I wouldn't touch gradients, but, for whatever reason,  I felt like it could work with the Heat.  However, using their current color scheme wouldn't really be viable for the main set, so I made it an alt.  As for the primaries, I opted to draw from their old Floridians hardwood classic.  I also took a little from their city uniforms of years past for the other alt, grabbing the chest script and neon blue.  I chose to pair that and the neon pink with gray because I didn't think they looked as good matched up with another color and putting them against black looked too similar to the normal kit.

 

This is a great start but there needs to be more color somehwere. Having the only color in the jersey being on one side of the uniform leaves them looking very blank and unfinished; similar to the Cavs and Jazz recent rebrandings. Maybe using the colors in the gradient for the wordmark and numbers; like Heat in Pink and the numbers on orange; or applying the gradient to the wordmark and numbers. Maybe also try using the colors in the gradient in the sleeves, collar, and waistband? Like I said great start!

[VyCade]

18 hours ago, johne9109 said:

This is a great start but there needs to be more color somehwere. Having the only color in the jersey being on one side of the uniform leaves them looking very blank and unfinished; similar to the Cavs and Jazz recent rebrandings. Maybe using the colors in the gradient for the wordmark and numbers; like Heat in Pink and the numbers on orange; or applying the gradient to the wordmark and numbers. Maybe also try using the colors in the gradient in the sleeves, collar, and waistband? Like I said great start!

I admit, there's not a ton in the way of color, but I thought that having color for the numbers and script wouldn't look good without the contrast from the white.  I just think less is more in this particular instance, though I could understand why it might come off as unfinished.

[VyCade]

(17/30) Milwaukee Bucks

 

Milwaukee's had a number of different color schemes and fonts over the years and I had to make a decision regarding which ones to use for the primary.  Ultimately, I opted to retain the current ones, utilizing the prior two kits' color and font pairings for alts.

 

[VyCade]

(18/30) Minnesota Timberwolves

 

Minnesota's current kit is bad.  I mean, two different shades of dark blue paired with neon green?  That's just the mid-2010s Seahawks at that point.  I wanted to make something a bit sleeker, so I took their darker shade of blue and paired it with just silver.  Then there's a silver alt as well as one with throwback colors.

 

[VyCade]

(19/30) New Orleans Pelicans

 

For the Pelicans, I decided to extrapolate the wings from their main logo into a side panel design while keeping the font the same.  As for the alts, it's pretty standard stuff: A NOLA alt that uses the same colors irl and a primary/secondary color swap.

 

[VyCade]

(20/30) New York Knicks

 

When designing New York, I ultimately landed on a five-stripe design to represent the five boroughs.  Now, yes, I do realize that Brooklyn has their own team, but given that the Nets are a team that's already moved twice--and that's not including when they moved from New Jersey to New York the first time in the ABA--I figured a contingency plan is in order.  However, I did give them an alt with the Empire State building on it for the sake of Manhattan being their home, and that uses the black accents from the Stephon Marbury days.

 

[VyCade]

(21/30) Oklahoma City Thunder

 

The 90s started a regrettable trend of creating new team names a that are either edgy to the point of comedy (see the OG XFL) or literal formless concepts.  We'll be getting an even better example of that tomorrow, but right now we've got the Thunder.  Once again, it's hard to draw on any visual elements of thunder, considering there are none, so I took lightning and made it work.  I also used the old Sonics colors from the 90s on the first alt and the OKC chest script on the other.

 

[VyCade]

(22/30) Orlando Magic

 

Like I mentioned yesterday with the Thunder, the Magic have an even more nebulous concept for their team name.  When they first rolled up, they ran with the star aesthetic, something I call back to in their first alt.  Since then, their uniforms have been fairly bog-standard, but their color scheme and font paired with their pinstripes have done a good bit of work to make it a good look for them.  I wanted to give them a bit more identity without straying too far from their current kit, black alt included (which is now their primary for some reason), and this is what I got.

 

[VyCade]

(23/30) Philadelphia 76ers

 

Really not much to say about the Sixers.  Kept it fairly traditional while calling back to old kits for the alts.

 

[VyCade]

(24/30) Phoenix Suns

 

It's been unfortunate watching the Suns' uniforms seemingly just...devolve since the 90s.  They had such a striking identity in Barkley's day and I just don't think they've captured the same energy since then.  I wanted to try and make that happen while also carrying it through to the rest of the uniform.

 

[VyCade]

(25/30) Portland Trail Blazers

 

For as long as the Blazers have been using an angled stripe across the front of their jerseys, they've never just formed that stripe using their logo.  I think that idea has legs, so I went with it.  As for the Rip City alt, I actually tried making a sort of saw blade look.  It's not where the phrase comes from, mind you, but it's what I think of whenever I read the name.

 

[VyCade]

(26/30) Sacramento Kings

 

The Kings were using a pretty abysmal shade of gray up until recently.  Seems like their new kit does away with that.  That said, I feel like there's something to be said for a purple and silver scheme without black as part of it.  The Kings never tried that until they chose a way-too-dark non-silver color to pair with purple, so it came out pretty bad.  I wanted to give what I believed to be a scheme with a lot of potential a fair shake.  I did put in a black alt though, because black does still compliment those colors very well.  I also had to make an alt with the old Royals colors and script for obvious reasons.

 

[VyCade]

(27/30) San Antonio Spurs

 

The Spurs don't have a very reworkable design.  I mostly just tried to make their look a bit less standard.  I also put in an alt that utilizes the old 90s paint design.

 

[johne9109]

6 hours ago, VyCade said:

(27/30) San Antonio Spurs

 

The Spurs don't have a very reworkable design.  I mostly just tried to make their look a bit less standard.  I also put in an alt that utilizes the old 90s paint design.

 

Not a fan of the big block SAN ANTONIO, but everything else looks great

[VyCade]

(28/30) Toronto Raptors

 

It's been incredibly frustrating watching the Raptors strip away everything that made them unique.  Ditching purple. taking away the two-sided jerseys, moving to an annoyingly simple block script, simplifying the overall design down to nothing...  It's just been one depressing change after another.  Like, I understand that removing the edge from uniforms is symptomatic of leaving the 90s, but you're the RAPTORS for crying out loud.  THE RAPTORS SHOULD HAVE SOME EDGE TO THEM.  Not only that, but why ditch purple?  What was wrong with it?  What was wrong with the double-sided jerseys?  I understand that they might not be for everyone, which is why I've made the alts without those things, but it's still frustrating seeing teams try to fix what isn't broken.

 

All of that being said, however, I didn't want to make a straight up copy of the mid-2000s jerseys.  I wanted something of a middle ground with that and their first kit, which led me here.

 

[-Akronite-]

4 hours ago, VyCade said:

(28/30) Toronto Raptors

 

It's been incredibly frustrating watching the Raptors strip away everything that made them unique.  Ditching purple. taking away the two-sided jerseys, moving to an annoyingly simple block script, simplifying the overall design down to nothing...  It's just been one depressing change after another.  Like, I understand that removing the edge from uniforms is symptomatic of leaving the 90s, but you're the RAPTORS for crying out loud.  THE RAPTORS SHOULD HAVE SOME EDGE TO THEM.  Not only that, but why ditch purple?  What was wrong with it?  What was wrong with the double-sided jerseys?  I understand that they might not be for everyone, which is why I've made the alts without those things, but it's still frustrating seeing teams try to fix what isn't broken.

 

All of that being said, however, I didn't want to make a straight up copy of the mid-2000s jerseys.  I wanted something of a middle ground with that and their first kit, which led me here.

 

 

I've never loved their pinstripes, always loved that claw logo, and want the Raptors to return the red & purple for uniqueness. This rules.

[VyCade]

(29/30) Utah Jazz

 

I wasn't initially sure which color scheme I wanted to use for the Jazz.  Ultimately, I decided to keep it a bit more reigned in than not, opting to have the primary be the late-80s purple scheme, leaving the late-90s pastel scheme as an alternate set.

 

[johne9109]

Diggin' the Utah wordmark

 

[VyCade]

(30/30) Washington Wizards

 

The Wizards' branding hasn't been very wizard-like for some years now.  They should probably just change their name at this point, but that's a topic for another thread.  As for my concept, I decided, given the team's apparent love of the Washington Monument, to just make it the side panel.  It's pretty straightforward, as are the alts, which use the original Wizards colors as well as the colors from their days as the Bullets, with a nod to the old reaching hands script on the latter.

 

 

And that concludes the thread!  Thank you for reading.  I hope you enjoyed.  I'm already working on the NHL, so I'll be back.  Not sure when, but it'll happen.  If you're looking for more of my work and haven't seen my NFL thread already, you can find it in my profile.  Like with that thread, I'd like to thank SportsLogos.net for giving us the ability to share our work like this.  Thank you again for reading and I'll see you around.