The NBA is awash in visual change this upcoming season, with new jerseys standing out as the most striking example of that upheaval. But we haven’t heard much about the potential changes happening to the teams’ courts themselves.
Court design is an underrated aspect of a team’s overall aesthetic. A good court design can be really striking, and teams are making more of an effort to use fun designs to make their home court shine.
But every other team should just give up and play on simple, unpainted hardwood after the Sacramento Kings unveiled its latest court design for this season.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/908405089387212800
It’s just an alternate court, but it should be their primary. In fact, every team should have to play home games on this floor. It’s beautiful. And the Kings alternate logo with the standing lion is just tremendous. The court is made to match the team’s Global jersey, which is part of the team’s new Nike uniforms.
The court also has two unique international emblems using Hindi and Mandarin, which will be used to celebrate special India and China-themed games the Kings plan to have this season.
NEW: Kings to be 1st NBA team w/ 3 court designs: basic court from last yr; new black alternate court shown here; add'l court coming later. pic.twitter.com/Ce02qmDh5F
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) September 14, 2017
“Building a brand that connects with fans around the world – beyond traditional borders – will help create an authentic connection with emerging audiences,” senior vice president of marketing Erica Rau told Uproxx. “With a new court and two new marks, we’ve created an identity to represent our team and the NBA from the court up through jerseys, apparel and more.”
The Kings plan to have a court design for every uniform they wear this season, which is a great and underutilized idea. But they should just quit while they’re ahead and use this one for everything. And wear those Global uniforms quite a bit to boot.
