Blue Man Hoop
Fansided

Nike has robbed Golden State Warriors, NBA, of iconic jerseys

By Tony Pesta

Jul 5, 2022; San Francisco, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman (33) sits courtside before the game between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers at the California Summer League at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 5, 2022; San Francisco, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman (33) sits courtside before the game between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers at the California Summer League at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Golden State Warriors have unveiled their new 2022-23 statement jerseys and well… I think everyone is starting to miss when Adidas was in charge of design.

https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1554516124573761541

Nike took over in the 2017-18 season, ending an 11-year run of Adidas serving as the exclusive manufacturer, the longest stretch of any brand since 1984.

During that decade, the NBA saw plenty of great jerseys hit the market.

The baby-blue Denver Nuggets’ jerseys of the Carmelo Anthony era are instantly recognizable. As well as Cleveland’s fits from the start of LeBron James’ career. The list goes on.

Adidas wasn’t perfect and they delivered some not-so-great ones (though, I’ll defend the sleeved jerseys until the end of time).

Nike didn’t get off to a bad start. They provided significant upgrades to Phoneix, Milwaukee and even delivered on some great Warriors jerseys (I’m looking at you, black, gold and blue lightning bolt jersey).

The issue now is Nike has become bland. Boring. Uninspired.

Nike is going all-in on minimalism and the new Golden State Warriors jerseys are a sign that the NBA is losing its originality.

The new Warriors’ jerseys are generic and look identical to something collegiate teams would wear. They aren’t even too different from other NBA threads that have been released this season.

It’s clear Nike has become infatuated with minimalism. And I’m not fully opposed to keeping things sweet and simple.

But these new uniforms rob the Warriors and the rest of the NBA of a sense of originality. Golden State jerseys are supposed to feel like Golden State, not Michigan.

Now, all that really matters is winning basketball games and the Warriors are fortunate to have a collection of other jerseys that are near the top of the league.

Still, I hope Nike’s insistence on doing the bare minimum is something that doesn’t last too long. Bring back the fun, busy and colorful jerseys.

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