The NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament will feature special alternate jerseys to match the league’s bold painted courts.
When tournament play tips off Friday, fans will notice the home team’s “City Edition” jerseys by Nike complement the recently unveiled playing surfaces. League officials intend for the city-specific jerseys, which were officially unveiled Thursday, and bold court designs to help television viewers immediately recognize that they are watching tournament games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will host the New York Knicks in Friday’s first nationally televised tournament game while donning “Great Lakes Blue” and cream jerseys that pay tribute to the downtown “Deer District.” The splattered pattern was inspired by an aerial photo of the team’s 2021 title celebration, and the swoop across the chest was based on the Fiserv Forum’s roof silhouette.
During tournament games, Milwaukee’s typical hardwood look will be replaced by a cream and green court with a blue Bucks logo at center court.
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets will host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in Friday’s nationally televised nightcap while wearing black “5280” jerseys that pay tribute to the Mile High City’s elevation against a mountain backdrop. The “5280” mark will also appear in the middle of Ball Arena’s new court, which is blue and gold.
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Nike said its “City Edition” jersey designs, which are alternatives to standard home and road uniforms, were first launched in 2017 to “connect court, community and culture” for all 30 teams with regional references and styles. The apparel company releases a new “City Edition” jersey for each team every year.
“The game’s past, present and future is deeply embedded in these designs,” Nike vice president of league partnerships Sonja Henning said in a statement. “In working with teams across the NBA, we were able to create new uniforms that are a canvas for storytelling from each community.”
This year’s noteworthy designs include that of the Golden State Warriors, whose black design has “San Francisco” in gold slanted letters across the chest to evoke the city’s iconic cable cars climbing up a hilly landscape. The jersey’s side bears intersecting gold lines as an homage to crossing trolley lines.
In Washington, the Wizards will don black, gray, copper and teal uniforms that drew inspiration from the District of Columbia’s boundary stone markers. Capital One Arena will be dressed up with a matching gray and teal design.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ jerseys feature a black base, purple outlines and angled yellow lettering. A Nike representative said the dark look was a callback to the franchise’s 1960 move from Minneapolis when fans could only close their eyes and imagine the future of professional basketball in Southern California.
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Tying the jerseys and courts together visually was an intentional move to help promote the in-season tournament, which will run on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout November, with the exception of Election Day, when no games will be played around the league. The event will conclude at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with the semifinals Dec. 7 and the championship game Dec. 9.
“We’re all trying to figure out the best ways we can elevate this from the regular season so that people understand how important this is,” said Christopher Arena, the NBA’s head of on-court and brand partnerships. “It all comes together in the most powerful way in these courts. This is the first time we’ve had courts that are completely painted. There’s no wood being shown. Each court takes its inspiration from the uniforms.”
The multi-round tournament opens with the league’s 30 teams divided into six groups of five for a round-robin stage. Eight teams — the six group winners and two wild cards — will advance to a knockout round. Each team’s in-season tournament games will count as part of its 82-game schedule, but the teams that advance to the championship game will play an 83rd game that won’t count in the regular season standings.
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The NBA hopes the in-season tournament will improve early-season competition the way its play-in tournament, which was introduced in 2020, has helped improve the final two months of the regular season. The in-season tournament champion will hoist the NBA Cup, which was manufactured by Tiffany & Co., and each of the winning team’s players will receive a $500,000 bonus and a medal. The NBA will also recognize an MVP and an all-tournament team to add gravitas.
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