by Micah Hart
Over at ESPN, the Uni Watch Blog has spent the past week unveiling their rankings of all 122 professional team jersey designs across the four major sports in North America. The top ranking NBA kit? The classic, timeless Boston Celtics, which checked in at 10th overall. Said Uni Watch on the Celts:
The Rolling Stones, “Goodfellas,” a Hershey’s with almonds — the classics are classic for a reason. That definitely applies to the Celtics’ set. No goofy side panels, no extraneous bells or whistles — just a perfect vertically arched wordmark and a simple green-and-white color scheme. They’d jump a few more spots in these rankings if they dropped that black-trimmed alternate.
Have to say I couldn’t agree more about the black trim on the alternates. After the Celtics, the Spurs, Lakers, Warriors, and Jazz rounded out the top five. I’m a little surprised to see the Jazz so high, but to be fair I haven’t looked at their jerseys since they burned my retinas back in the late ’90s.
As for the worst NBA uniforms? Take a bow, Sacramento. Not only do you have the ugliest threads in professional basketball, but Uni Watch lists the Kings dead last amongst all teams:
Every class has a slow kid pulling up the rear, and in this case it’s the Kings. Where shall we start — the brutal color scheme? The illegible chest lettering on the home jersey? The oddly off-center front uni numbers? The clownish number font? The completely incongruous old-school script on the black alternate? A disaster from start to finish. On the bright side, there’s nowhere to go but up!
Ouch babe. Take a look at the full NBA rankings and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments.
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not shocking at all
i think they are sick lol
I am a Celtics fan too. I also like the St. Patrick’s day alt. jerseys. I feel we should be the only team to display St. Patrick’s Day alt. because duh … that’s our thing.
I definitely disagree with most of the list for both basketball and NHL.
i think the kings jersy was cool. but because the 29 other teams jersey are better then they look the worst
Seriously Micah Hart(writer)??? If the Kings were the worst…. then Hornets’ uniform last year would be???
i actually like the black trim alternates for the celtics and my favorite jazz jersey is the one they had in the late 90s
Agreed. I miss the days of teams having exciting looking jerseys that actually had something to do with the team name. I loved the late 90′s Rockets/Pistons/Jazz/etc. jerseys.
This so stupid. We can all agree that the gold and yellow that the Kings tried to rock was stupid. But this all opinion based, the players who have been on the team for more than one season love the black jersey, the black is something more than just a color its part of the teams history. I’m strictly talking about the black uniform. And if purple, black, and white our your team colors how good it look. This is so stupid.
Its obvious the season needs to start because this is all NBA.com has to talk about is about uniforms …-.-
This is stupid. It’s all a matter of opinion. I honestly like the King’s Jersey more than the Celtics.
Lakers’ Jersey is better Purple and Gold
The Utah Jazz & Washington Wizards umiforms are god awful…and the Golden State Warrior uniforms while look creative look pretty ugly to me aswell. As for the Kings I like the previous uniforms better but no way are the current ones uglier than the Wizards cureent uniforms….I mean they look more like the Washington Bullets…shouldn’t that be apart of their history that they would want to bury?
Why would they want to bury the most successful era of their history? TBH I’m starting to get the feeling they’re moving back towards renaming them the Bullets – as they well should. Changing their name was a knee-jerk reaction to an imagined threat and should never have happened.
CELTICS all day every day. No one could top CELTICS.
Love Celtic jerseys, but feel bad for kings
celtics and lakers jerseys look too plain i dont like them at all, the Kings jerseys look pretty good better than l.a. n celtics
I feel enlightened. I never really liked the Celtics much but somehow…I still like them. Maybe it`s their well designed jerseys that influence my subconcious. On the other hand…they have some great players…but which NBA team doesn’t?
Boring, plain, hideous, tacky. Boston sucks.
the worst nba uniform?? well, there’s the hornets’ mardi gras jersey…oh and mephis’s black w/ red/teal trim……and the clippers alt road jerseys from like ’05.
as for the best, well…you cant go wrong with the bulls home jersey….or the magic’s pinstirped alternates…oh and of course, the spurs home jersey lol
Seriously? Spurs at #2… They should be at the bottom
TOP 5:
1.)LAKERS
2.)Celtics
3.)Heat
4.)Knicks
5.)Bucks
WORST 5:
1.)SPURS
2.)Kings
3.)Warriors
4.)Wizards
5.)Clippers
I don’t mind most of this, but I like the Spurs and the Warriors jerseys
personally i think the white celtics jersey witht eh green writing is the best. The green isn’t my favourite
Maybe it’s more of a fan based. Sometimes, performance overshadows the eyes. After the Celtics in 80′s, for me, the Celtics jersey look awful because noone would like to wear a jersey of a losing team.. Not until they acquired KG and Allen and became champions. Look at the Cavaliers, when LeBron was there, their jersey look fine and when he moved to South Beach, their jersey look awful and changing the jersey doesn’t make it better. It’s like love, when you love your team even they used ragged jersey and if they are winning, many would like their jerseys.. I think the one who created this article is a Celtics fan.
The kings Purple with black lettering is awesome. They really got a lower rating then teams like GoldenState and Washington??
I’m a golden state fan, and I’ll admit the only uniform i like more then our own, is the kings. Whom ever wrong this article is an absolute buffoon.
it’s simple. dress for success. hire a better person who can design better uniforms lol u can make lot of cash $$$
the Heat’s all-black uniforms are nice too, the nuggets’ navy ones, and the celtics’ black-alternate
I wanna see how the new nets will look
Cavs blue jersey is wicked
Why are the Bulls as low as they are? Seems like this guy is blaming them for all the teams that copied the red and black. Also, the black alts are dope.
The worst jersey is obviously the Hornets alternate that makes you want to throw up. I dig the light blue, but the Nugs kinda already cornered that.
I always thought those khaki raptors uniform was the ugliest :\
those were specifically amde to pay tribute to the army….
Heat, Lakers have great jerseys….. the Kings jersey today doesnt look that ugly
I disagree. I think the Kings’ jersey is the 2nd worst. For me, the worst jersey is the Suns jersey. It made Suns players look physically retarded. The best looking jersey should be the Celtics’ green and gold jersey, 2nd best is Chicago’s black alternate jersey. Just my opinion.
lol true true the orange one is REALLY wack.
The numbering on the Kings jersey’s could be better, but honestly I felt last years Kings uniform is the best the Kings have looked in years. There are plenty of uniforms that are worse just through blandness, let alone ugliness. I think the worst uniforms in the NBA right now are the Cleveland ones. They look right out of the 50s or 60s, not a flattering colour scheme, neither modern nor retro, in my opinion just plain dull and not attractive.
Green Sonics jersey in the early ’90s : Best ever.
I read the whole list from 1-122, and it was HORRIBLE. Oh yeah, did I mention that the writer hates purple? That’s why the Kings are last.
well design wise, the celtics are a few stripes and the color green.
is that so special? no. but for the organization like the celtics? hell yeah. it’s historic.
this is 100% opinion…
i like the orlando pin stripe jers
I thought that the bulls jersey should be in the top 5 simple red and white.
I don’t understand…What makes the Celtic jersey so much better than the rest? It’s white and green…That’s rather plain. I like the Clippers jerseys. Those are pretty cool. Same with the Lakers. I prefer the Lakers alternate, but that’s just me. I also like the Timberwolves jerseys. Those are awesome.
Lose the black trim!
wow! the writer of this article is obviously a celtic fan and a kings hater… what is good with the celtic jersey so plain and boring… and i dont remember any team in the small league replicate the celtic jersey before but i saw a couple of those of kings.
If you guys are going to comment at least read the actual article on ESPN and not the water-downed version here. It directly states in the article: “All judging has been done by the Uni Watch Power Rankings Executive Committee, which has a membership of one and freely admits its biases. The committee is rather fond of green but gets a rash at the mere thought of purple, for example. Similarly, the committee tends to like old-school designs and is skeptical of design “innovations” that just feel like gimmicks. Despite these predispositions, however, some teams’ rankings may surprise you. (Just to provide some diversity of opinion, we’ve also invited ESPN.com writers in the four major sports to chime in on what they like and don’t like in a uniform design. Their essays will be showcased throughout the week, although they weren’t part of the judging committee.” It’s not just 1 person judging all 122 teams. And the Celtics barely made it into the Top 10 so why are people claiming this “one” person is a Celtic Fan? Read before you comment.
I hope you’re trolling.
Honestly, I don’t mind ‘Mento’s Purp Jersey, I mean compared to Heat’s new black one, it is OK. I
The Bulls have the best jerseys in the NBA. The Bulls all day.
HEHE do good good
Wait for my Nets jerseys. I hope that they will rock.
But I’m a bit afraid…
1. Celtics ( green w/ black trim )
2. Magic ( blue w/ white stripes )
3. Rockets ( red w/ white trim )
4. Pacers ( yellow )
5. Kings ( purple )
Really? i know we have our struggles but in no way do i think our uniforms are even remotely ugly. Pick up on the hornets mardi gras jerseys. Stupid thread.
1.bulls
2.celtics
3.wolves
4.toronto
5.heat
WOW! I am sorry but the writers of the article have no fashion or color sense at all, you really going to tell me the Bobcat’s horrible blue and stripes, the Clippers pinkish red, and GSW yelloW! such a biased idiot here
I would buy a Kings jersey over a Celtics jersey any day. DeMarcus Cousins best center in the league!!!!
Umm… This isn’t a fashion show; this is sports. U can have the UGLIEST uniforms, but if u play hard and win championships, then who really gives a damn?!
I like the kings black and purple uniform. It really depends on each persons taste or preference.
1.) Hawks
2,) Pistons
3.) Pacers
4.) Blazers
5.) Sixers
Warriors: Like the colors but the number in the logo or the logo itself of the uniform doesn’t work. Kings: Their uniformd have gone downhill since the Webber/Bibby/Peja went away. I really liked the Kings uniforms of the mid 90′s-mid 00′s era. Wizards: Should go back to the 90′s Bullet’s jersey which was nice, clean, and pleasent looking. The 80′s Bullets uniforms that they wear now are too colorful, and have too much going on with different colors of stripes. Bucks: nice try on the current uniforms but something just not right with it. Maybe the B and the S on the uniforms in capital letters just doesn’ fit in with the rest of the team letters and the red outlining on the letters isn’t the way to go. Jazz(my fave team:) the new jerseys are pretty inoffensive remind me of the teams uniforms when they were in New Orleans. I didn’t mind the teams uniforms in the Deron Williams era: nice and clean looking but distinctive looking too. The late 90′s one went to far with the mountains in the background.
The Hawks have really improved their uniforms after failed experiments although the 1982-1992 home unis aren’t bad looking.
Couldn’t agree more with the top 5 Warriors rating, but I actually like the Kings jersey. There are several others that rank below. Oh well. It’s all a matter of opinion, I guess.