NBA gifts us with second straight year of great Christmas Day jerseys

Todd Radom

NBA gifts us with second straight year of great Christmas Day jerseys image

Every year, each of us receives a mailbox full of holiday cards. Some are garish and glittered, others are refined and polished.

This year's NBA Christmas uniforms represent the latter.

What makes these uniforms as delicious as a big bowl of rich figgy pudding?

Let’s start with the script letterforms. They are elegant and festive, the perfect visual fit for the holiday. Even though each team effectively follows a template, all of the wordmarks are individually crafted — no “off the rack” fonts here. Look at the “C” in “Cavaliers, then look at the “C” in “Chicago.” They are similar, yet different.


Additionally, all of this goodness is achieved with minimal embellishment — no patterns, very little trim, and a very spare color palette that really serves to emphasize each team’s individual look.

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These uniforms closely track last year’s, a set that was widely applauded by fans, players, and media alike.

The NBA’s tradition of alternate looks for Christmas started in 2008, when participating teams wore a special silver snowflake patch on their regular jerseys. 

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This gave way to something far less subtle in 2012, when the league went with what it called “Big Color.” This look was all monochromatic, a jarring jolt of color, with only the Los Angeles Lakers clad in white.

In 2013, the league brought us “Big Logo” — sleeved uniform tops with shiny, centered, silver team logos, devoid of front numbers. The look was a templated affair, and it was dissed by observers as gaudy and garish.

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In 2014, sleeves were out and numbers were reinstated on the fronts, accompanied by team logos. The big deal here was the use of players’ first names featured on the backs of the jerseys, positioned below the number.

This is adidas’ final season as official supplier of NBA uniforms; Nike will take over next year. While we don’t know what the future brings, it'll be hard to top these beauties — far, far better than finding a gift card under the tree on Christmas morning.

Todd Radom