Ranking Every New Utah Jazz Uniform One Season Post-Rebrand
In this story:
The Utah Jazz have quietly created a trend of initiating a rebrand once every decade or so. There then becomes a set of Jazz uniforms that become synonymous with the era they played in.
The early-era Jazz were known for their purple and gold uniforms during the time of players like Pistol Pete and Adrian Dantley. 90s NBA fans have all seen the iconic blue and purple mountain jerseys worn by the likes of Stockton or Malone. Even the more modern, warm, orange and yellow Jazz jerseys we've seen players like Mitchell and Gobert wear have become some of the better in NBA history.
However, the Jazz decided to switch things up this season, as Utah decided to make the most drastic changes to their logo, uniform, and court to date. Changing their team colorway from traditional blue and gold to a bold neon yellow and black was a move that was polarizing for fans around the league.
Now one year removed from the rebrand, we can now zoom out and look and how good (or bad) these jerseys actually are. Let's rank all four of the new jerseys the Jazz wore during the 2022-23 season.
Apr 4, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Kelly Olynyk (41) drives against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the fourth quarter at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports.
4. The White Association Edition Uniforms
Not the biggest fan of these uniforms. It's not like these are bad by any means since it's difficult to mess up an all-white uniform, but nothing stands out with these. The neon yellow lining on top of the white makes it collectively feel a bit too bright.
The overall design isn't anything we haven't seen before from the Jazz, but that's also a part that makes this an overall boring jersey. Drastically transitioning to a colorway like neon and black should prove to provide some flashy jerseys to come with it, but these don't exactly convey that.
Apr 2, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
3. The Yellow Icon Edition Jerseys
These uniforms are one that we saw the Jazz take a big jump in terms of change in both the color and the word font. A change that was disliked among many in the NBA world at first now actually seems a bit too harsh for these threads.
While the neon yellow is indeed a little bright for the eyes, it's not only a neccesary bold change for the Jazz, but its able to stand out well on-court with no question. The intriguing colorway is a nice change of pace opposed to many teams' generic, boring uniforms.
Nov 13, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) reacts after being called for a foul against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
2. The Black Statement Edition Uniforms
These jerseys definitely make a statement. The bold and bright yellow on top of the black meshes together perfectly, making the name and number really pop out. While the neon jerseys could be seen as a bit too flashy, these are just right.
While these are some nice jerseys overall, the lack of any true standout feature makes a great jersey one-of-a-kind. While the Statement uniform is unable to accomplish that, the next jersey on the list is absolutely able to.
Feb 23, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) dunks the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
1. The Purple Classic Edition Uniforms
It's hard to make a case to put any uniform above these classics. If you asked me to point out a single flaw in these, it would be difficult. The purple color looks great on-player and on-court. The name and number font are perfect compliments to the the neck and shoulder lining, giving the perfect vintage feel. The mountains bring the cherry on top, giving this jersey the ability to pop and make it truly one-of-a-kind.
While we have seen these jerseys in years past, they were still technically unveiled as a part of the uniform rebrand, so we'll count them. Unfortunately, the 2022-23 season marks the end of the Jazz wearing these again for at least one season, as they have a new Classic Edition uniform to unveil next season.
Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream podcasts!
