Images from an adidas retail catalog that began circulating on the Internet yesterday show a small gold tab on the back of the jersey collars beginning in the 2014-15 season. ESPN and other outlets report the gold tab will only be present for those NBA franchises who have captured an NBA title.
It’s the first instance of a league-wide badge or mark to symbolize a championship among North America’s Big Four professional sports: NBA, MLB, NHL NFL. Whereas FIFA adds a star to denote each World Cup title a country has won, the NBA will only feature a single gold tab for every franchise that’s won a title.
So the Portland Trail Blazers, who have only captured one title in franchise history — the 1977 team spearheaded by Bill Walton and coach Dr. Jack Ramsay — will have a single gold tab, but so will the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, who have won 17 and 16 titles, respectively.
.@PhilHecken @sportslogosnet NBA teams will have a gold "mark" on the back collar if the franchise has a title: pic.twitter.com/oDwntb5mSK
— Conrad Burry (@conradburry) July 15, 2014
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Then again, Sports Illustrated‘s Ben Golliver shows that the single “championship patch” will list the number of titles a franchise has won:
The tabs were first announced on Twitter by Conrad Burry from an adidas catalog used by retailers for the 2014-15 season. Also of note by Burry and others for 2014-15 uniforms:
The Pacers, Kings* and Raptors will have throwbacks:
.@PhilHecken @sportslogosnet some NBA Hardwood Classics uniforms next season for the Pacers, Kings, and Raptors: pic.twitter.com/p3ugLODW92
— Conrad Burry (@conradburry) July 15, 2014
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The Celtics and Bulls will have sleeved jerseys for St. Patrick’s Day:
.@PhilHecken @sportslogosnet St. Patrick's Day uniforms for the Bulls and Celtics for 2015: pic.twitter.com/VRkn4vOHHu
— Conrad Burry (@conradburry) July 15, 2014
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Celtics road jerseys will now have “Boston” on the chest instead of “Celtics.”
.@PhilHecken @sportslogosnet Celtics switching to BOSTON on away uniforms next season: pic.twitter.com/1QcgJsLZUW
— Conrad Burry (@conradburry) July 15, 2014
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The Lakers’ black “Hollywood Nights” jerseys will have sleeves this upcoming season.
Hispanic heritage jerseys will NOT have sleeves, though:
The Hispanic Heritage jerseys for the upcoming season are NOT sleved. @PhilHecken @MySportsLegion pic.twitter.com/Z7W0L7FS4T
— Cav fan est. 7/11/14 (@TheNBALatest) July 15, 2014
The 2014 NBA Christmas Day uniforms won’t have sleeves, either, and will have first names on the jersey, according to this reddit/r/NBA upload:
The Hawks will have their Pacman logo on their shorts:
.@PhilHecken @sportslogosnet @UniWatch Atlanta Hawks shorts will have pac-man logo on them next season: pic.twitter.com/2zbN94Gt68
— Conrad Burry (@conradburry) July 16, 2014
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Teams will have new “Pride” jerseys, similar to Detroit’s “Motor City” design or the Portland’s “Rip City,” although those jerseys haven’t yet been shown, and yes, they will also be sleeved (bummer).
.@PhilHecken @sportslogosnet a summary of the new uniforms for 2014-15 NBA season. Design details are still "rumor". pic.twitter.com/hleni0p09y
— Conrad Burry (@conradburry) July 15, 2014
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*I grew up in Rochester, so I’m definitely getting the old Rochester Royals throwback the Kings will be rocking.
What do you think?
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