In 2017, when Nike and the NBA announced their City Edition uniform concept, the goal was to breathe new life with these new jerseys and connect a franchise more closely with its city. Now, in the fourth season, the Nike City Edition uniforms are still going with the same goal. Some designs have evolved, while other jerseys have stayed true to their original themes. The fluid loyalty to a city's culture also tells the story of fandom: through changes, shifts and even surprises, a fan base is not tied to just one dimension, but many. A place can change over time and still keep its regional spirit.
"City Edition uniforms were meant as a window into a city's culture," says Sonja Henning, Nike VP. "The fingerprint City Edition describes - the unmistakable identity of a place - represents the past four years and is dynamic and reaches beyond just basketball."
See how the Nike City Edition uniforms have changed over time
New Orleans Pelicans
For the new season, the New Orleans Pelicans will play in a uniform based on the New Orleans city flag, which also features the fleur-de-lis, mixed together with a simple color scheme. We're curious what highlights we'll see Lonzo or Zion make in these jerseys.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers showed a tribute this year in the form of the city skyline; the colors are said to reflect the Schuylkill River, which runs through Philadelphia. We're curious whether we might soon see James Harden wearing it.
Orlando Magic
The well-known ''pinstripes'' are brought back with this version of the Orlando Magic jersey, as they are based on the uniforms from 1992, when players like Shaquille O'Neal and Tracy McGrady still played there.
Phoenix Suns
With this uniform, the focus was mainly on a design that suits the Phoenix Suns; the primary colors such as purple and orange return in a refreshing way in the form of pixelated art. Phoenix's nickname is also displayed large on the chest of the uniform, namely ''The Valley''
Portland Trailblazers
The design details mainly reflect Portland's different landscapes, such as mountains and hills. The typeface used on the chest of the Portland Trailblazers uniform is based on the same typeface used on the Burnside Bridge.
Brooklyn Nets
Perhaps the most promising team this season: with players like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets certainly have plenty of talent. From 2018 to 2020, the well-known color selection was chosen to reflect the sweaters The Notorious B.I.G often wore, and it was also a tribute to Biggie because he was from Brooklyn. Now they're going for something different; many people say the new Brooklyn City uniform looks a bit like something from the series ''Friends''.
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors remain loyal to Drake and OVO and keep using the black and gold color combination. Starting with the 2017-2018 season, the owner of the Toronto Raptors decided to sit down with city icon Drake to come up with ideas for a new uniform, and above you can see the results of recent years.
Utah Jazz
As you can see, the Utah Jazz aren't big on change, but this year they decided to do things differently and went for an all-black uniform with the well-known Utah Jazz shades worked into it. For this uniform, the Utah Jazz sat down with Nike Basketball because the original creative director of the Jazz actually wanted to stick with the same uniform for another year.
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards like variety in colors but not in design, and that shows again this year. They're going back to the design based on the original uniforms of the Baltimore Bullets, the Wizards' original name before the rebranding.
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings also decided to change colors in their City jerseys this year. With players like De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield, we're curious to see what they'll accomplish this year. At Burned, we all agree in any case that the new uniform is a good change.
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs also decided after 3 years to play in a different design this year. In the basketball world, they were known for their camouflage uniforms, but they have now chosen a sleek black jersey with the San Antonio Spurs color pattern from 1985.
