NBA, Nike give 1st look at jerseys for 2017-18 season
Nike and the NBA are making some notable changes to the jersey industry. After briefly taking down the initial release Tuesday morning, Nike republished an official post detailing the new threads that will be worn to kick off the 2017-18 season.
Essentially, Nike and the NBA have agreed to do away with "home" and "road" jersey designations and color assignments. In their place, Nike will introduce what the company is currently referring to as "editions."
However, these editions will still adhere to the white versus colors contrast NBA fans are used to seeing between competing home and road teams.
New release from Nike previews what new NBA uniforms will look like, promises four core uniforms for each teamhttps://t.co/0oGvkSqWsP pic.twitter.com/fqcmacXN8C
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) July 18, 2017
One notable change is the home team's ability to decide which jersey it'll wear.
"Beginning with the 2017-18 season, home teams will pick which of their uniforms will be worn at all home games and visiting teams will choose a contrasting uniform within their own assortment," per Nike.com.
"Because of this change, Nike and the NBA worked together to create four core uniforms for each team, classified as 'editions.'"
From the looks of it, the "Association Edition" will replace white home uniforms, while the "Icon Edition" will replace colored road uniforms.
The one concrete example they have up is for GSW's home whites: pic.twitter.com/Gem2DiQqnL
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) July 18, 2017
Nike also plans on rolling out a "Classic Edition" for eight unspecified teams.
It wasn't divulged how much advance notice teams will be given ato coordinate their jersey decisions, but obviously team-to-team communication will be a factor ahead of each NBA game going forward.
The new editions also come with a plethora of manufacturing changes that focus on improving player motion and moisture-wicking features.
No retail price was mentioned in the now taken-down release.