What's new on the uniform front for 2013-14

The Pelicans' road gear

Here are thoughts on some of the new NBA uniforms that’ll be worn in 2013-14.

New Orleans Pelicans, home and away

The colour scheme is uninspiring. It's conservative but looks like it’ll age quickly.

The font used for the lettering is likeable, but that’s almost irrelevant given the lettering is too small. It seems odd that ‘Pelicans’ wasn’t used for either the home or road jersey script. Not only is that a new nickname, but it uses less space than ‘New Orleans’ and thus would’ve been a nicer fit for the jersey.

The side panels, clean armholes and V-neck all hinder this set.

The logo – which is so busy it takes a second to spot the pelican – marks a missed opportunity. The Pelicans nickname provided New Orleans a chance to use a happy, cartoon bird logo, like the Baltimore Orioles. That would’ve been a nice change for an NBA team.

Phoenix Suns, home, away and alternate

The use of black really hurts this set. The home uniform is the biggest offender on this front with a black collar and black numbers, when purple would’ve been a more eye-pleasing choice.

The coloured flaps on the neckline and the piping near the armholes and across the back of the shorts are clutter. That design on the hem of the shorts belongs on a misguided teen’s lower back, not this uniform.

The script, numbering and font for the player names are all attractive. There’s something flimsy-looking about that streaks design, but it works.

Some sort of diagonal pattern on the shorts – similar to what they did in the ‘90s – would’ve been a nice touch.

Detroit Pistons, alternate

This looks like something a Saturday junior club with a big uniform budget would wear. It’s unnecessary and generically modern, particularly those side panels.



The new alternate for the Warriors

Golden State Warriors, alternate

Having a sleeved jersey seems particularly unnecessary when you leave the sleeves plain. Some stripes – and the Warriors already have stripes elsewhere on their unis – would’ve looked good on there.

Los Angeles Clippers, alternate

The light blue is attractive and relevant to the club’s past. This uniform could do with a more standard collar and without the piping up the side, however.

Los Angeles Lakers, alternate

They took an unattractive uniform and made it worse with black. That shade doesn’t team well with purple and gold, plus this gear retains the unsightly side panels of the other Lakers unis.

Miami Heat, two alternates

Both are unnecessary. The red one looks terrible, the black one looks good. The scoop collar, trim, and drop shadow on the numbers are all plusses for the black uniform. Hopefully the ‘A’ isn’t actually solid, as it appears in that photo.

New York Knicks, alternate

Its biggest crime is being unneeded, particularly as the Knicks have one of the finest uniform sets in the league without it. This alternate has all the features that make their regulars so appealing, though.