Every year the NBA prides itself on being the industry leader in alternate jerseys. City editions, city connects, throwbacks, re-colors, remixes… you never know how they'll be branded. Some are bad, some are good, most are totally O.K.. Some jerseys will come and go and some will return or be reimagined.
The only thing we know for sure is that they'll all be available for purchase.
30. Phoenix Suns
Devin Booker's face says it all. They're boring. They're plain. It's a miserable situation. The only statement these Suns jerseys are making is "we bet we won't have the worst defense in the NBA this season."
29. Houston Rockets
Kevin Durant did not play two decades in the NBA to be rewarded with these High School Musical jerseys. They are a create-a-jersey that someone walked away from after settling on a font.
28. Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets are apparently going back to their yellow New Orleans days with their city jerseys. It doesn't make a great Hornets jersey and it certainly wouldn't make a great Starter jacket.
27. New Orleans Pelicans
Another black jersey, but with a glowing hue that reminds you of a hand grenade on Bourbon Street. The team let their Hornets history go in 2013 and don't seem to have figured out a jersey look that works in more than a decade as the Pelicans. Just don't blame the mascot.
26. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers new jerseys are a nod to old jerseys and look like they should come with matching white wristbands and a headband. Last year's city edition jerseys were popular enough with the team and fans that the league had to step in and tell teams to go back to their core uniforms during the postseason.
25. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are all over the place wearing pinstripe city edition jerseys and these Chicago-related, non-Bulls colors. That's just not the Bulls. Maybe it would workout without that gaudy sponsor patch accenting the O, but we'll never know.
24. Los Angeles Lakers
When you truly have one of the most iconic uniforms in all of sports, it's an impossible task to come up with good alternate jerseys. So what if the letters were in the shape of a triangle? Would that do anything for you?
Nope. That's probably why the Lakers also have a Statement Edition jersey which, uh, just look like regular Lakers jerseys.
23. Sacramento Kings
The Beam lives on with the Kings new City Edition uniforms. While this year's team may not win quite as many games as the '22-'23 Sacramento Kings that took the Warriors to the brink before they were dismantled in the ensuing seasons, at least Russell Westbrook will get to wear them.
22. Golden State Warriors
The Warriors "Town Edition" looks like a house sigil from Game of Thrones run through an old Instagram filter. They're the most interesting of the boring jerseys.
21 – 14: Hawks, Bucks, Celtics, Blazers Spurs, Raptors, Wizards and Grizzlies
The following jerseys are completely fine. Ranking them is impossible. The Hawks City Edition is a very simple black jersey with peach trim that says PEACHTREE. The Milwaukee Bucks are going with the Cream City alternates this year. The Celtics replaced green with gold. The Blazers are going all red with their statement jerseys. The Spurs' statement jerseys are silver. The Wizards' are gold. The Grizzlies have a little color on the side. The Raptors have classic throwback jerseys… which they won't be wearing this season.
13. Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers are going with an orange version of a 2018 city edition jersey that was a tribute to the 1984 Olympic men's basketball team. So it's an alternate throwback to a tribute to another team. But orange does look cool
12. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons also went with a jersey that pays tribute to a short-lived color scheme in their franchise's more recent history. The Grant Hill era will be remembered.
11. Utah Jazz
Honestly, the white jerseys would be near the bottom of the list and the purple ones should be near the top. This seems like a fair compromise.
10. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder's city edition has is clean, tells a story, and what more do you want?
9. New York Knicks
The Knicks are making a statement by paying tribute to the arena where they play. The jerseys are still mostly black, but have some blue and orange on the sides which should remind you of what Madison Square Garden wears on game night.
8. Philadelphia 76ers
The Allen Iverson era was very special to the people who grew up in the 90's. Iverson is iconic and thus, so is this design. If you missed it, at least there's a crypto patch to let you know these jerseys are modern. The only real problem is that they aren't doing the wide shoulder.
7. Brooklyn Nets
People seem to love these Notorious B.I.G. jerseys that debuted in 2018. They're just black Nets jerseys with some colorful camo trim, but don't tell anyone.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers
This is kind of like the 76ers jerseys. Those nostaligic for a certain era—in this case, LeBron's first stint in Cleveland—should enjoy these. Anyone who isn't can just stick these back in the high-20's. And just ignore the fact that Damon Jones also wore this jersey.
5. Dallas Mavericks
This is a very nice green jersey design that seems like it should be older than it is. Cooper Flagg highlights should really pop in these 90's throwbacks.
4. Orlando Magic
Another classic look from the 90's. Back when stripes were emphasized over three-point shooting. Penny Hardaway and Shaq made this look iconic. Who knows what this year's team could do for the star and stripes.
3. Miami Heat
The Heat will again wear a version of their beloved Miami Vice jerseys this season. At this point the design is a classic, whatever they do with it. No other team can pull off this type of look.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are going with a throwback jersey and also bringing back a Prince-inspired "Purple Rain" city edition. To jerseys might be cheating, but Anthony Edwards is a cool enough player to necessitate a different jersey to go with every outfit in your closet.
1. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets' City Edition jersey is the rainbow skyline and it's both sharp and a throwback to a classic look. What's not to love?
