A new NBA tradition is back for its second year to help celebrate the 75th anniverary of the Association. Here’s what hoop fans (and fashionistas) need to know.
As the league continues to celebrate its 75th Anniversary season, the NBA has launched “Jersey Day” yet again, highlighting the uniforms of all 30 teams across social media pages, as well as classics from throughout the history of the association.
While last year’s inaugural Jersey Day spotlight was held on the opening day of the regular season, the league opted this year for more of a lone window during the opening months of the 2021-22 season where the day could stand out on its own.
“We really thought it was a great opportunity leading up to the holidays, as people are looking to purchase jerseys to support their teams and buy holiday gifts, and a great time leading up to our Christmas Day slate of games as well,” said Amy Brooks, NBA President of Team Marketing and Business Operations and Chief Innovation Officer.
To celebrate the day, the league is encouraging fans to post their favorite NBA, WNBA, and G League jerseys across their social media platforms, providing the following simple guidelines on how to participate:
• Share a photo of yourself, your friends, or family in an NBA jersey on social media
• Use the hashtag #NBAJerseyDay
• Tag your favorite teams and players
Last year, legends like Bill Russell posted photos in some of their favorite uniforms, while influencers are fans across social also took part.
With LeBron James jerseys surging this year thanks to a new No. 6, along with a variety of Stephen Curry unis still landing on the list of bestsellers, there’s been a noted spike in interest, sales, and wearability since Nike began its re-design of all 30 NBA team uniforms with the 2017-18 season.
By the close of the WNBA’s 25th anniversary season earlier this fall, WNBAStore.com also saw a 50% increase in sales from the prior year.
Later today, two of the league’s original franchises in the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors will face off in each of their Classic Edition uniforms at Madison Square Garden, highlighting the starting points of the NBA’s earliest days.
Only the Warriors, Knicks, and Celtics will receive a Classic Edition this season, with all 30 teams otherwise each wearing an Icon, Association, City, and Statement Edition look at different points of the season.
Much like “Jersey Day” can help to celebrate the unique visual history and storytelling of each team, executives at Nike feel the newest batch of 75thanniversary uniforms can help to inspire future fans of the game.
“It’s about inviting the next generation to join,” said Jesse Alvarez, Nike Basketball’s product director of global sports apparel. “You can put stories on a uniform, and the uniform can become a bridge to that next generation.”
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