The Nike NBA City Edition uniforms were unveiled last Thursday. According to Nike, NBA fans will be treated to another season where alternate uniforms continue to “represent the stories, history and heritage that make each franchise unique.” The uniforms are now in their seventh season with the NBA, and they have been a big hit in the past. Home teams will wear the uniforms throughout the NBA In-Season Tournament, which tipped off last Friday and will run until Dec. 9. The big question: How does this year’s collection of uniforms look? The 30 Nike NBA City Edition jerseys for the season. The unveiling gave The Athletic’s team of Jason Jones, James Edwards III and Kelly Iko an opportunity to discuss the jerseys in depth. The trio conferred about all 30 City Edition jerseys and came up with its own power rankings. The writers ranked each team using a scoring system where 30 points were given to their favorite jersey, all the way to one point given to their least favorite. This explains the numbers in parentheses next to each writer’s name below. Which jersey was the collective favorite? Here are the rankings and the writers’ thoughts of each, starting from worst to first. (All images are courtesy of Nike and the NBA) The Wizards jersey pays homage to the 40 boundary stones of the original outline of the District of Columbia. Edwards (5 points): This makes me want a Mountain Dew Baja Blast from Taco Bell. Iko (2): Have you ever chewed, like, five Skittles at once and looked at it? This is that. Come on, y’all. Jones (1): There’s a lot going on here. Doesn’t really work for me. This jersey was made in collaboration with Brooklyn artist and designer Brian Donnelly, known professionally as KAWS. Jones (7): The artwork for “Nets” is supposed to give a graffiti vibe. I wish it would have leaned more into that, especially with this season occurring as hip-hop celebrates its 50th anniversary. Edwards (6): I’m all for trying to be creative and different; you take a risk when you do that. But the Nets took a risk, and they failed. Miserably. Iko (1): It’s actually fitting that this was inspired by KAWS’ “Tension,” because that’s exactly the type of headache I get from looking at this for too long. This is a bad jersey. It’s actually baffling because KAWS makes some really dope art. The triangle-shaped word mark is a reminder of the throwback design after the team moved from Minneapolis in the 1960s. Jones (10): A mash between the early and modern Lakers. Not a big fan of the triangular shape of “Los Angeles,” but I understand its ties to the early days of the Lakers in the city. What would have been wild would have been something lake-related. That would have stood out more than another black jersey. Iko (5): What’s going on in Los Angeles? I get it, Laker Nation rides hard for its team, but when I go to the store, I’m not thinking about the triangle offense. It could be worse though…like Brooklyn’s. Edwards (4): I don’t really care about the reasoning for the placement of “Los Angeles.” It looks bad. Horrific. It’s like someone went to JOANN Fabrics and tried to make a custom Lakers jersey but ended up not measuring the width of the jersey correctly. For such a historic franchise, I expected better. Memphis’ jersey prominently features the “MEM” logo that has been seen on the waistbands and collars of past uniforms. Iko (15): I once got lost on Beale Street trying to get to FedExForum in Memphis. These give me the same confused vibe. The font is a cool idea, but it wasn’t executed well enough. Back to the drawing board. Jones (3): The Grizzlies had my favorite City Edition jersey last season. Not so much this year. It’s basic. Doesn’t have the same personality as last season when the jersey screamed Memphis swagger. Edwards (2): Someone on social media said the Memphis jersey is a QR code to see the actual jersey, and I can’t stop laughing. Horrible. GO DEEPERNBA City Edition 2022-23: Every alternate jersey ranked from 29(?) to 1 Indiana’s jersey has a street-art look resembling the murals and signs throughout Indianapolis neighborhoods. Edwards (13): I don’t mind this, because it’s different without being too extra. The color combination is obscure, and while it doesn’t make any sense to me in terms of a connection to Indianapolis, it’s not an ugly jersey. Middle of the pack for me. Iko (6): There is way too much going on. These are a mess. Jones (2): When I think of Indiana, I don’t think vibrant, which is what this jersey is. I’ve been to Indianapolis plenty of times, but this just doesn’t connect with the city for me. The rest of the content is kept as is until it requires rephrasing.
