After successfully hosting the Super Bowl in February, the city that never sleeps (New York, that is) is at it again. This time, NBA All-Star weekend is taking place in New York. Unlike any other All-Star weekend, this season’s will take place at both Barclay’s center and Madison Square Garden; with the Rising Stars Challenge, 3-point and Dunk contests taking place in Brooklyn at Barclays Center and the Celebrity All-Star game, NBA All-Star game, and practice taking place at Madison Square Garden.
To do it big, it was only necessary for Adidas — who will be in year 8/11 of their contract with the NBA when All-Star weekend comes — to represent for the 5 Boroughs when it came to the design of the latest All-Star Jersey. According to Darren Rovell for ESPN, “The uniforms are starkly plain compared to previous years, a tribute to the style of apparel conjured up from the host city’s basketball past.”
David Cho, who oversees the NBA partnership for Adidas stated that “It’s simple and timeless. It’s a nod to the history, culture and style of New York City basketball.”
Since the the ’60s the NBA All-Star uniform featured “East” and “West” on each respected coast’s jersey. This year, however, they will not.
Players from the Eastern Conference will wear white, while players for the Western Conference will wear black. Accessories that the players wear — including arm bands, headbands and shooting sleeves — will be in the traditional colors (blue for the East, red for the West).
Another change is found on the back of the uniform where the players first and last names will be sewn above and below the number, respectively.
The jersey will feature five unique stars filled with icons from each of New York City’s five boroughs: Unisphere (Queens), Waves (Staten Island), Checkered Taxi Pattern (Manhattan), Vinyl Record (Bronx) and Brownstone Bricks (Brooklyn).
The warmup jacket continues with the military themed patches denoting years played in the All-Star Game and other notable awards and titles. A shooting shirt features the block lettering similar to the font used on shirts in the 50s and 60s.
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–Jamaal Fisher (@jamaalfisher)
