The NBA City Edition jerseys have certainly had their moments. But not so much in the last couple of years. So let’s asses the all time greatest designs.
NBA City jerseys tend to be some of the most popular sellers for the league, but they’ve certainly fallen flat the last couple of seasons.
The NBA’s sixth edition of ‘City jerseys’, in their partnership with Nike, left fans wanting more. And the same can be said for edition seven, too.
This comes off the back of arguably the NBA’s best ever collection of designs for the huge 75th anniversary season.
So with this year’s crop looking like a swing and a miss, here are our top ten of all time.
Best NBA City jerseys of all time — Top 10
OK let’s stop with the negativity. Here’s out top 10 counted down; these are the best designs we’ve ever seen.
10. Golden State Warriors – ‘Oakland Forever’ – 2020-21
Coming in at number ten is the Warriors’ ‘Oakland Forever’ jersey which resembles the uniforms worn by the franchise during the 2000s. It pays respect to the ‘We Believe’ Warriors and many NBA fans were pushing for the team to replicate the jersey of that era.
9. Miami Heat – ‘Vice’ – 2018-19
The Miami Heat have released many different colourways for their ‘Vice’ design but none have been as popular as this one.
Although you could argue that it is the most well known City Edition jersey, it just lacks the creativity to beat the eight jerseys ahead of it. But it’s still an incredible look.
8. Los Angeles Lakers – ‘Black Mamba’ – 2017-18
The detail in the snake skin pattern is a fan favourite and was brought back during the 2020 NBA Finals by the Lakers to pay respect to the passing of Bryant and his daughter earlier that year.
7. Charlotte Hornets – Mixtape – 2021-22
The franchise also brought back the original font from the team’s unveiling in 1988.
6. Golden State Warriors – Mixtape – 2021-22
This jersey finds itself here due to the insane detail including grey lines within the ‘Bay Bridge’ logo which replicates the design of the roof of the team’s old home – Oracle Arena.
The seven small rows of circles down the bottom right represent each of their NBA Finals successes with the final row to the right being completely empty to hint at them winning another championship soon. And it just so happened to be in that season.
5. Memphis Grizzlies – Mixtape – 2021-22
The font of ‘Memphis’ blends in their inaugural design in 1995 in Canada whilst the bands around the shoulder and neck spell ‘M-E-M’ in a similar pattern to the old Vancouver uniform.
4. San Antonio Spurs – Mixtape – 2021-22
Yet another design from the 2021/22 season finishes high on our list with the San Antonio Spurs bringing back their signature fiesta stripes that they first wore in the mid-90s.
The detail of this jersey is all in the simplicity of the bright colours representing their past with a neutral white background that also helps make the iconic ‘Spurs’ logo standout.
3. Houston Rockets – Mixtape – 2021-22
To kick off the top three, many NBA fanatics have the Houston Rockets’ mid-90s jersey design in their all-time list and it was a sight for sore eyes when it was brought back last season.
Since it was the NBA’s 75th anniversary, the franchise felt it was fitting to bring back the uniform the Rockets wore when they won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another couple of decades to see it again.
2. Phoenix Suns – ‘The Valley’ – 2020-21
1. Minnesota Timberwolves – Mixtape – 2021-22
Taking out the honours of the greatest City Edition jersey of all-time is the Minnesota Timberwolves combining designs from their late-80s teams and Kevin Garnett-led 2000s squads.
The blue and green colours and pine tree finishes around the shoulders and neck was an iconic look in the beginning for the twin cities. Incorporating the font of the 2000s for the name and number graphics makes this look sharp and to us is an all-time classic.
