Tuesday morning, the NBA and adidas unveiled the 2015 All-Star jerseys. Photos of the jerseys—along with the shorts, jackets and pants that’ll be released as well—are in the gallery above.
We got a rundown of the soon-to-be-released gear Monday at the adidas showroom in Manhattan, courtesy of Christopher Arena, the NBA’s Vice President of Identity, Outfitting and Equipment, and David Cho, adidas’ Director of NBA Partnership. Here are some details:
The two most obvious things about the jerseys are that they lack any large words on the front, and they have a clear New York City influence, which makes sense, considering the Knicks and Nets are sharing the host duties of this season’s All-Star Weekend.
“Because there’s so much history and culture of New York City basketball, that’s where we wanted to start,” Cho said. “And then we overlaid New York and style. The lack of a word mark actually harkens back to the early 20th century—what’s known as the Black Fives era—when uniforms were incredibly simple. We wanted to go back to that timeless, very simple, classic look.”
The sides of the jerseys contain perhaps the most compelling aspect of their design: five stars, each with a different interior pattern that represents a different NYC borough. According to the NBA and adidas, here’s how the stars break down, per a press release:
Queens: a pattern inspired by the stainless steel orbit rings of the borough’s iconic Unisphere that was built for the 1964 World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows – Corona Park
Staten Island: a wave pattern to signify its surrounding waters
Manhattan: a taxi-cab checkered pattern represents the pace and energy of the world’s most cosmopolitan city
The Bronx: a vinyl record pattern to pay homage to the birthplace of hip-hop and the rich musical legacy of New York City
Brooklyn: a brick pattern inspired by the iconic brownstone houses and buildings that make up the neighborhoods of the city’s most populous borough
“There’s so much, whether you’re talking about New York City basketball history, or New York City in general, with sports, style and fashion—we wanted to bring all of these different elements of New York City together, but in a way that still maintains a simple, elegant look,” Cho said.
The jerseys also feature the players’ full names on the back—first name above the number, last name below it—taking the Christmas jerseys’ first-name concept one step further. And on the East/West patch, a herringbone pattern nods to the Barclays Center court, while the players’ names and numbers are written in the New York Knicks’ team font. Each player’s warmups will include patches for their past accomplishments—such as MVP, Rookie of the Year, All-Star Game MVP and NBA Championships—and a star for every previous All-Star appearance.
And, clearly, the jerseys’ core colors are black and white, a switch from the blue and red unis of last season. “I think the black and white gets down to the core street basketball, the city streets of New York—where playground [basketball] started and where many of the great players from the city came from,” Arena said.
The jerseys (priced at $80-$110) will be available at NBAStore.com and the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in January.
What do you think of ’em?
