Thursday, the NBA along with Adidas revealed 2016 NBA All-Star game uniforms. The 2016 All-Star Weekend is being played in Toronto, Canada. This is the first time that the NBA is hosting the event outside of the United States.
2016 NBA All-Star Game Uniforms Revealed
The jersey was designed to resemble the history of Toronto and Canadian basketball. The Western Conference will wear red and white jerseys, representing the primary colors of the Toronto Raptors, and the Eastern Conference will be wearing blue and white jerseys, which likens back to the first ever NBA game played featuring the Toronto Huskies.
The back of the jersey features the Toronto skyline, which prominently features the CN Tower on the far left. Also on the back of the jersey, is a double maple leaf patch on the neck with the classic All-Star logo in the center, along with a back collar patch which says “TO16”. This patch is similar to the one the NBA released at the beginning of the 2014 season, which features the amount of NBA championships the franchise has won.
The shorts have stripes similar to the ones introduced during last year’s NCAA Final Four. These shorts also feature the star inside of a maple leaf. The star also features the claw from the Toronto Raptors uniform.
The biggest change in these uniforms however, is the Kia advertisement patch in the front of the jersey. This will be the first time in any of the 4 major North American sports (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB) that feature an advertisement on any part of the uniform.
In My Opinion
Overall, I like these uniforms. I normally don’t like advertisements on the uniform (outside of soccer), but the Kia patch is small enough that it doesn’t distract from the rest of the uniform. It’s similar to the Nike, Reebok, Adidas, and Under Armour logos we’ve all gotten used to over the years. I also love the skyline on the back of the jersey. The skyline is a major symbol of Toronto, and for the NBA to ingrain it on the back of the jersey is a stellar idea. As for the shorts, I could do without those kinds of stripes, but it fades into the maple leaf/star logo on the side that it works really well.
Photo via NBA Press Release, More Images of the uniforms can be seen on NBA.com
