I have to begin by saying it seems perfectly fitting for me to be typing up a list about jerseys I hate while wearing an old worn out Akron Zips t-shirt for the 3rd day in a row. I have no right to be making this list, but I love hot takes and so here we are. ESPN just came out with a list and outside of two options I think the list was pretty boring and frankly didn’t appreciate some of the horrendous choices NBA franchises have made. So without further ado let’s get to my top 10 worst NBA jerseys of all-time.
10: 2012 Toronto Raptors Camouflage
What these jerseys stand for is important and to me that’s what makes this botch job so upsetting. Having the thick black stripe on the side really interrupts the flow of these and the mixture of brown in the camouflage doesn’t help either. Maybe we can thank our armed forces with a special patch or just WITHOUT USING CAMOUFLAGE!
9: 2003 to 2013 Phoenix Suns Alternate
To be fair, the entirety of the Phoenix Suns closet from this decade could be on here. They looked ugly in the early 2000’s! However, nothing was worse than the orange and gray alternates. An abomination if you will. How could a franchise go from some of the best jerseys in the 90’s to this. Also, why did they subject their fans to this for a decade?
8: 2013 San Antonio Spurs Camouflage
It’s upsetting to see the amount of times teams have messed up camouflage. Again, stop putting thick stripes on the side of these jerseys!!!!! The oversized Spurs logo is also very distracting on these and the camouflage just makes the outfit look dirty. Good news, in 2018, Nike produced a city edition jersey with a white base and light gray camo that definitely makes up for this.
7: 2007 Charlotte Bobcats Road
What a weird time this was for the NBA. The Hornets moved to New Orleans and gave up the city of Charlotte to this monstrosity. Worst part is, the Bobcats played just as bad as their uniforms looked. I’m honestly not even sure what this look was trying to accomplish. At least their home whites were a little more easy on the eyes.
6: New York Knicks St. Patrick’s Day
Many teams have done a green St. Patrick’s Day jersey and most have failed. None have failed harder than the Knicks. They even went as far as to wear these on Christmas Day with a snowflake patch on the shoulder. That’s taking this too far if you ask me. Green, orange and black are a recipe for disaster.
5: 2016 New Orleans Pelicans Mardi Gras
For me these are just simply too gaudy. It’s not the idea of a mardi gras collaboration, it’s the execution that upsets me. The all purple is too much and the green shoulders don’t help. Also, sleeved jerseys were a bad idea and these were close to the worst of them. Perhaps these are what caused Anthony Davis to leave.
4: 2015 Houston Rockets Clutch City
This took guts, especially to wear a slogan that didn’t fit this team at all. It’s fun to pay homage to the past but these didn’t accomplish that. The all red with accented yellow stripes made them look more like McDonald’s fry containers. Also, why have the numbers in between the words? Ironically these were created just a year after Damian Lillard forced the Rockets out of the playoffs on a clutch 3 pointer at the buzzer. Maybe he should’ve been wearing these jerseys.
3: 2013 Golden State Warriors Sleeved
If you want to know who to blame for the start of the short sleeve jersey trend in the NBA, here it is. Funny enough, even their own players thought they were ugly. These truly are heinous looking. The pinstripes don’t belong or make any sense and the yellow is assaulting. Thankfully we never have to look at these ever again.
2: 2003 Dallas Mavericks Alternate
This has to be on every list due to the fact that it was so much a mistake that Marc Cuban pulled them after one game. There really isn’t much else I can say. NOBODY LIKED THIS LOOK!
1: 2010 Charlotte Bobcats NASCAR Night
NASCAR and the NBA. Truly the worst collaboration in all of sports. I don’t know whats more upsetting, the checkered flag sides or the navy and gray pinstripes. There couldn’t have been a more fitting jersey for such an awful franchise.
