The NBA has just released a batch of new uniforms for all of its 30 teams that would fall squarely at the intersection of a Venn diagram where “sports fans” and “urbanists” are on either side.
As part of a larger NBA collaboration with Nike—they’ve unveiled three other uniform styles thus far, with the themes of “Association,” “Icon,” and “Statement”—the latest batch has the theme of “City,” with each team’s jerseys somehow paying homage to their great cities.
In some cases, the execution is clear and excellent; see the Milwaukee Bucks’s “Cream City” edition, with plenty of visual cues that nod to the Wisconsin-based team. Others are … less successful; The Ringer does a good job of summing up why, say, the Dallas Mavericks one is so very meh.
So how do New York City’s teams fare? Let’s start with the Nets, since the team’s uniforms were inspired by one of the city’s great architectural/engineering marvels: the Brooklyn Bridge.
Inspired by our most iconic landmark#WeGoHard #NikeXNBA pic.twitter.com/HLeU28eGhS
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 27, 2017
The black-and-white jersey features subtle cues to John Roebling’s masterpiece, namely the suspension cables that hold the whole thing up, and the Gothic arches that have become one of the city’s most popular selfie spots. The homage is understated—perhaps too much so—but very cool nonetheless. (There’s also a small shoutout to the Barclays Center subway stop on the uniform—nice, nice.)
As for the Knicks, Nike hasn’t officially released the team’s City jerseys yet, but one was floating around Twitter (and is apparently :
How do you feel about the Knicks’ “The City” jersey? pic.twitter.com/Anh4asjgYO
— The Knicks Wall (@TheKnicksWall) December 27, 2017
It’s a mash-up of the FDNY logo and the Knicks colors—which are also the city’s official colors—and fonts, and it’s fine. It’s not as creative as the Nets one, though, so we’re giving this one to Brooklyn.
You can see all of the City edition jerseys over at SB Nation.