Risky Gambit

For basketball fans, Christmas came twice this year. As a post-Christmas day present, Nike released their fourth and final installment of their uniforms series, the “City Edition”. Inspired by team and city heritage, Nike’s latest jersey series grabs from past, present, and future elements of each team’s franchise and city history. Here’s a look at the Top 10 City Edition NBA Uniforms.

10. Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most iconic man-made landmarks in the country. Accordingly, Nike worked a graphic wiring pattern mirroring the historic bridge’s network of cables into the Nets’ City Edition uniforms. That coupled with a sleek, simple black and white design featuring the words “Brooklyn Unite” makes the Nets slick new unis turn eyes upon entrance.

9. Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings have never been known for having the most fashionable uniforms, but with their new Nike City Edition threads, things have changed. Featuring a throwback baby blue and red color scheme with the slogan “Sacramento Proud” notched at the waist-line, these Kings jerseys are both fresh and nostalgic. A clear nod to the 1985 Kings team, Nike even threw in the fan-favorite crowned lion logo across the chest.

8. Washington Wizards

Already equipped with one of the sleekest uniform designs in the NBA, the Washington Wizards City Edition threads are no different. Featuring a marble side-panel pattern reminiscent of the Washington Monument, and “The District of Columbia” lettered in bold across the front, these new Wizards jerseys celebrate our nation’s capital’s team in true style. Not to mention, they are indeed red, white, and blue.

7. Los Angeles Lakers

A deviation from historical Lakers colors, LA’s favorite team will don blacked-out “Mamba-styled” uniforms in reverence to Laker legend, Kobe Bryant. A scaled snake-skin design covers the entire jersey with numbers highlighted in yellow, similar to that of a serpent. With Kobe Bryant embodying Los Angeles basketball for the past 20 years, it is only fitting for Nike to acknowledge the esteemed legend with the Lakers’ City Edition uniforms.

6. Milwaukee Bucks

Sometimes sticking with what works is best. The Milwaukee Bucks City Edition uniforms are no exception. Keeping with the team’s long-standing forest green colors, Nike’s newest jersey design is both a nod to the team’s current success and to the history of Milwaukee itself. The iconic white-eyed stag logo featured front and center lends well to the off-white base color scheme, emblematic of Milwaukee’s famed Cream City bricks.

5. Utah Jazz

Inspired by the cascading Utah sunset, the Jazz’s new City Edition uniforms are emblematic of the state’s desert mountain landscape. Featuring an orange, yellow, and red color scheme, Utah’s new threads embody the state’s iconic chiseled mountain ranges and long-stretching frontiers.

4. Golden State Warriors

Arguably the NBA’s fastest emerging brand, the Golden State Warriors took a unique stance on their City Edition uniforms. Highlighting the Bay Area’s rich Chinese culture, Nike threw an image of a traditional Chinese dragon front and center on top of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. The belt-buckle features the word “Prosperity” also in homage to the area’s Chinese culture. Most importantly though, the title words do not read “Oakland” or “San Francisco”, but instead “The Bay”, to reveal the Warriors dual city fanbase.

3. Boston Celtics

Similar to the Bucks, the Celtics City Edition uniform capitalizes on a classic brand and amplifies its rich history. Nike kept with Boston’s iconic green color scheme but added a parquet square design to highlight the team’s iconic home court floorboards. An accentuated flayed bottom symbolizes the team’s 17 championship banners hanging from the TD Garden’s rafters while Red Auerbach’s signature graces the bottom-left corner.

2. Chicago Bulls

While it’s hard to beat the Bulls already iconic uniforms, Nike’s City Edition uniforms took things to another level. Studded with Chicago’s iconic 4-star flag running down the sides, and a classic cursive spelling of “Chicago” across the front, these new threads are a near-perfect embodiment of the Windy City’s rich sports history. They even threw in a subtle nod to the city’s musical heritage with the words “Sweet Home” snuck in across the waist-line.

1. Philadelphia 76ers

Sporting one of the most emblematic franchise names in all of basketball, the Philadelphia 76ers were bred to take the cake in this contest. With the Sixers City Edition uniforms, Nike aptly chose to highlight the city of Philadelphia’s deep cultural ties to American history. These throwback-esque jerseys feature red and blue striped sleeves with an off-white base color scheme, emblematic of the parchment paper used to sign the Declaration of Independence. The word “Phila” appears in a hybrid cursive font across the chest with Ben Franklin’s revered slogan “Unite or Die” stitched at the belt buckle.