Charlotte Bobcats Away Jerseys 2009-2010

The new Charlotte Bobcats jersey design confirms my observation: V-neck jerseys are in!

The Philadelphia 76ers' new jersey for the season sports the a similar v-neck design of the Bobcats' new threads. But other than that, the design approaches are different.

While the 76ers took a step back to their roots, the Bobcats went forward and left the campy old design. They did away with the stylized "Bobcats" and "Charlotte" text and just went with a straight forward font face. The team also did away with the horrendous looking italicized numbers.

Two design elements stands out in the design: first is the pinstripes, the second is the sublte orange and white lines on the edge of the neck hole and on the sides. I've never been too high on pinstripes but it helps "fill out" the space since the orange and white lines are too subtle and thin. I personally think that the jerseys suit the play of their current roster (Gerald Wallace, D.J. Augustin, and Tyson Chandler, to mention a few)

Over-all, the design is much better than the previous design-- by going to a more subtle direction, the Bobcats have elevated their previous look. Now if they could only just improve their team play...


Tags: Charlotte Bobcats

Philadelphia 76ers Home Jerseys 2009-2010

In the NBA, paying homage to tradition is one of the best ways for a team to change its identity and brand. For the Philadelphia 76ers this 2009-2010, they brought almost everything back.

Since 2007, the Sixers have tried to integrate the red, white, and blue of old in their jerseys, particularly in their alternate road uniforms. After shedding the image Allen Iverson brought, the Sixers wanted to go back to their roots in terms of look.

The new home uniforms bear striking resemblance to the ones Julius Erving wore in the 1980's, but with an update: it now features a v-neck and the neck arm holes have a thicker, solid band. There's also a red detail  tapering on the side and on the edge of neck hole.

The new design is very simple by NBA jersey standards and I think it's a good thing. The Sixers featured one of the busiest looking jerseys in the past.

Tags: Philadelphia 76ers

Orlando Magic Home Jerseys 2008-2009

The Orlando Magic is seen by a lot of NBA pundits as the team of the future as its All-Star center Dwight Howard has yet to celebrate his 25th birthday. Also, the core of Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson are brimming with youth. Thus, a forward-looking jersey seems to be in order for them.

The design of the jersey innovates the usually bland pinstripe implementation with a radiating set of stripes in front, which gives the jersey a dynamic look-- it makes the wearer some sort of body definition with the way the stripes draw your eyes. The neck hole is highlighted by what seems to be a cross between the usual round neck and a v-neck, which is pretty weak if you ask me.

As for the other elements in the jersey's design, the font is appropriate and in line with the modern theme, ans the black tapering stripe looks a bit off, if you ask me.

The Orlando Magic jersey is looks sleek and modern, but has some issues on the details.


Tags: Orlando Magic

2009 NBA All-Star Game Jerseys

The jersey design for the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix diverges from the trend in the previous years when the theme of the jersey design has something to do with the host city. (In the last NBA All-Star Game held in Phoenix, Arizona, there was a big cactus emblazoned on the jersey. Seriously.)

The design for this year's game is very futuristic, from the font used in the team name and numbers, but also in the detailing. Jerseys rarely use gradients incorporated in the design, but this one uses gradients on the sides (a design similar to the Dallas Mavericks.)

I really like the execution of the design for this one-- it's modern, sleek, and, looks good on the basketball court. It erases the bad memories from the jerseys they used in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game.


Tags: NBA All-Star Game

Sacramento Kings Away Jerseys 2008-2009

The Sacramento Kings aren't exactly NBA royalty right now, with a losing record and a core of players that aren't geared to compete in the long term Their jerseys are a different story.

The current design, does communicate, although not so strongly, the quality of royalty, with snobbish colors of purple and black, plus the tapering bands on the side of the jersey look like a couple of knight's lances. However, the font used on the jersey reminds me of an elitist king, rather than a might conqueror.

The jersey features a black collar with a crown icon on the back, which coincides with the trend of placing the team's logo on the back, above the player's name. The neck holes don't feature a lining, but complements the "lances."

Over-all the Sacramento Kings jersy is well designed, but in the basketball context, is pretty weak, much like the team.


Tags: Sacramento Kings

New Orleans Hornets Home Jerseys 2008-2009

This is my first post that talks about a team I've blogged about before. And that team is the New Orleans Hornets . :)

The Hornets have not been hot this early in the season, but their new threads are. If you look at the previous design, it was pretty plain, which was a disconnect to what New Orleans (and its popular Mardi Gras festival) was all about. The new jersey design now takes a different route-- it has multi-colored pin stripes and wider bands. The teal color stands out, and the purple is a bit understated. The gold has taken a backseat in this design though. This uniform reminds me of the old Charlotte Hornets unifroms, with the pin-stripes and narrow fonts.

The design will work because it's New Orleans. But if you take this design to, say Utah, it loses its flavor.


Tags: New Orleans Hornets

Oklahoma City Thunder Away Jersey 2008-2009

The new kid on the NBA block is actually The Artist Formerly Known as the Seattle Supersonics.

The Oklahoma City Thunder may contain familiar faces like Kevin Durant and Desmond Mason, but the team literally now looks different. Gone are the iconic Seattle Sonic Green, and the franchise brought in Light Blue, Orange, Navy Blue, Gold, which not pretty bad colors.

However, once those colors get together with the jersey's rather straightforward design, the result is pretty weak. This jersey reminds me of the old Detroit Pistons jersey in the mid-1990's. The main culprit here is the Light Blue color. It's shade and hue are too weak for professional sports and the pencil-thin linings on the neck and arm holes don't give the jersey much attitude.

If you ask me, the only good thing about this basketball jersey is the font used for the front text and numbers. It probably doesn't help that the team wanted to put "Oklahoma City" in full because it really needs a narrow font.

The Thunder aren't expected to make waves in the NBA this season. That's good because we'll see less of this basketball jersey.


Tags: Oklahoma City Thunder