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Midway through Wednesday, Nike released the "City Editions" jerseys for a majority of the NBA team. These jerseys were going to be the fourth option jerseys (fifth for a certain eight teams) after the Association ( the traditional home white jerseys), Icon (previously known as road uniforms) and Statement (team's desire to make a bold statement for few big games or rivalries) jerseys.
While NIKE did disappoint one and all by not having any special Christmas Day jerseys, they are certainly giving the team's multiple options - four (five for few teams). Most of these "City Edition" jerseys have a local them while some are quite similar to a design the team previously had.
Let's take a look at the "City Editions" of all 30 NBA teams and grade them:
Atlanta Hawks
They already have one black jersey, however, that one is color combined with red. The neon touch looks really good but are the double lines (above T and under L) really needed? They don't look too appealing to the eye. Doesn't seem to be very creative or thought out either.
Grade: C
Boston Celtics
The design on the jersey itself is that of the parquet floor that the Celtics have at TD Garden. So good thought there but the grey doesn't really go with the green and just feels odd for a team like the Celtics to have. The jersey is quite similar to the team's earlier grey alternate jersey just minus the sleeves.
Grade: C
Brooklyn Nets
Other than the vertical lines, symbolizing the Brooklyn Bridge, and 180-degree chest lettering, this jersey doesn't seem to be very different from the Nets' Icon edition jerseys. They've to the local Brooklyn colors of black and white but in terms of creativity, it isn't great.
Grade: C
Charlotte Hornets
The jersey itself looks very similar to what the team used to use as alternates before NIKE took over. It's a similar design, doesn't seem to have any theme to it and the only difference as compared to the previous alternates is the blue stitching design on the sides.
Grade: C
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago script appears on a white background for the first time, so that's nice. However, the blue on the jerseys does appear to be off, as they are very non-Bulls colors. It's going to take a while to get used to the Bulls in these but they aren't all that bad. Full marks for trying and doing something different.
Grade: B
Cleveland Cavaliers
According to reports, LeBron James was a key person as the Cavaliers were designing this jersey. For originality, this jersey gets full marks but again, similar to the case of the Bulls, this jersey stands out quite oddly to the team's other jerseys. The team's other jerseys are all bold and strong and dark colors, so this one stands out with it's light colors.
Grade: C
Dallas Mavericks
You want the jerseys to look cool and this certainly does. This was the one franchise which could have probably used a black jersey as an alternate, with all the rest of the jerseys being designed around the color blue.
Grade: A-
Denver Nuggets
Zero creativity on this one. The logo, just enlarged, is borrowed from the previous Pride jerseys that the Nuggets had. The color scheme has changed too but other than that nothing very different or magnificent if you are a Denver native.
Grade: C
Detroit Pistons
Nothing off with showing off the "MOTOR CITY" tag but from a NIKE perspective, they've done nothing. The Pistons already had a "MOTOR CITY" alternate jersey with sleeves. So although it does have a local theme, there seems to be no input here from NIKE.
Grade: B
Golden State Warriors
The reigning NBA Champions seem to be excelling on and off the court. The team has had Chinese heritage jerseys before as well but there are clearly small changes made to this which get amplified with the bright yellowish background.
Grade: A
Houston Rockets
Nothing flashy and not trying to overdo either. The Rockets have always had their jerseys primarily around the red, black and white. This is along the same lines and just as the Chinese symbols in a larger font. Creatively not a lot but why fix something that isn't broke. This is just the Chinese alternate jerseys the Rockets previously had but without the sleeves.
Grade: A
Indiana Pacers
Tough one to grade. They don't have a color ranges to play with but is the chequered design and vertical lettering really required? It isn't exactly attractive, instead looks quite odd. It's bold, no doubt, and certainly original but it could have been better.
Grade: B
LA Clippers
As mentioned in the tweet, the jersey is a throwback to the era of the San Diego Clippers but that's about all that's good about it - the thought. Given the team's current form, the lack of direction as a franchise, it's difficult to like something that's so off-color.
Grade: C
Los Angeles Lakers
Designed by Kobe Bryant. Do we need to say more?
So the jersey looks a lot similar to the Hollywood Nights jersey that the franchise had introduced a few seasons back. The only thing that sets it apart is its snakeskin type look. Also probably in the future, other legends could be designing these jerseys for the Lakers.
Grade: A-
Memphis Grizzlies
Full marks for the message the Grizzlies are tyring to send by adopting this style on their city edition jerseys. The look of the jerseys doesn't deviate a lot from the generic identity of the team or the city.
Grade: A
Miami Heat
The pink, blue and white colors are synonymous with the TV Show "Miami Vice". The Heat have had white jerseys before but have hardly ever had blue in their uniforms. The script and font of the lettering is similar to what it was in the previous arena where the Heat played games from 1988 to 1999.
Grade: A
Milwaukee Bucks
With Giannis Antetokounmpo it's more likely that the Deer will be feared, no matter what the jersey. Nonetheless, this cream color was adopted from the clay found in the Menomonee River Valley, which has defined the architecture of the greater Milwaukee area.
Grade: A
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have had quite a few changes in the past few years. Officially rebuilding, new management, new coach, new players and then the new logo. And now a new jersey, which is grey. As mentioned earlier, grey doesn't generally suit the NBA jerseys, that perfectly applies here.
Grade: C
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans had Mardi Gras jerseys even before the NBA had signed with NIKE as their apparel brand. This just modifies it slightly and unlike the modifications to other teams' previous alternate jerseys, this one actually looks good.
Grade: A
New York Knicks
It's not often that the Knicks are doing things right but with these jerseys, they seem to have knocked off another home run. The Knicks' faithful fans are going to be rewarded for their faith with these spectacular fire-fighter themed jersey.
Grade: A-
Oklahoma City Thunder
Irrespective of which jerseys, the Thunder have always stuck to the color blue. Their alternate color over the years has been orange and in the "City Edition" jerseys, these two colors are just combined for grey.
Note: Grey is still bad for NBA jerseys but the orange and blue add a lighter and brighter touch to make it bearable.
Grade: B
Orlando Magic
The jerseys looks far better than the theme or message the Orlando Magic franchise are trying to send. The jersey is apparently inspired by outer space. This is what the team's press release says "Emblematic of the desire to achieve more, the Orlando Magic City Edition uniform is the will to break boundaries, push our outer confines and find something greater than our individual selves. Go higher. Go farther. Go deeper. Be limitless."
Great work on the jersey but the franchise could use a better marketing partner.
Grade: A-
Philadelphia 76ers
We would love to see the black Sixers jerseys to return but these aren't any worse either. Ask yourself how many Philadelphia jerseys can be made with red, white and blue colors? The franchise will keep surprising you. This one is another classic. Looks really good asthetically.
Grade: A
Phoenix Suns
Weren't the Suns' colors orange, black or white? This is just taken from off the radar. It's ridiculous, looks absurd and is focused on just the Latino nights. By the looks of it, only Phoenix is taking part in the NBA's Noches Latinas program this year.
Grade: C
Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers always looked good in black, however, for their city edition jerseys, they removed the white stripes, like the ones seen on their association jerseys. It looks good and honors the right people - the 1977 Championship winning coach Jack Ramsay, their fans and the city of Portland.
Grade: A -
Sacramento Kings
Nothing wrong with the colors, they have worn it before but the logo just really looks bad. Their franchise might finally have a direction of sorts but this jersey certainly does not.
Grade: C
San Antonio Spurs
Just another top-class decision by another top-class franchise. No arguments here other than the fact that it looks awfully similar to the franchise's camouflage alternate jerseys from a few years back.
Grade: A-
Toronto Raptors
Nothing spectacular about it. The black and gold combo looks good. Showing "North" on the jersey is also a good connection but what's with the random design with the gold color on the front?
Grade: B
Utah Jazz
The colors aren't quite synonymous with what the Jazz normally wear but there is a message. The color scheme apparently symbolizes the state's red-rock landscape, something which is also shown on the license plates. The franchise also has an alternate court to go with this jersey.
Grade: A-
Washington Wizards
The jersey looks good. It was a good move to have District of Columbia in the front but maybe using another color could have made it better. Isn't bad though.
Grade: B
Guess the Lakers players!
