Credit: Los Angeles Lakers (Twitter)
Power ranking the NBA Christmas Day jerseys and seeing where the Lakers’ rank
The NBA on Christmas Day has become an institution that basketball fans adore. It’s a tradition that sports lovers can gather round together in the holiday spirit can enjoy, it’s a time that the league can showcase some of the marquee matchups (and whatever Los Angeles Lakers game is on as of late) from a given season, and it’s a time where the league can drop new jerseys.
In recent years, the NBA Christmas Day jerseys have been lacking, to put it kindly. Whether it’s been the fact that they’ve had sleeves, been a bit too ambitious with changing the style of the name-plate, or whatever else, the jerseys the past few years have missed the mark. That’s far from what happened for Christmas Day 2015.
The NBA unveiled the new uniforms right at the start of the 2015-16 season and, as a whole, the uniforms are fantastic. The cursive lettering on the front of the jerseys is the highlight of the new jerseys, but there are also unique touches on each of them that really make them stand out.
Just as a group of jerseys, these are arguably the best crop of Christmas Day jerseys that the NBA has released. However, some are better than others. These are the (semi-)definitive NBA Christmas Day jersey power rankings. Where do you think the Lakers should come in?
Next: No. 10 and No. 9
Credit: Adidas
10. Oklahoma City Thunder
Perhaps the biggest problem with the Christmas Day uniforms for the Oklahoma City Thunder is the fact that they look quite similar to their alternate uniforms that we’ve seen before. Though the lettering is obviously different, that’s the only truly notable change in these jerseys in relation to their alternates.
Considering that the highlight of unveiling these new uniforms for the teams competing on the holiday is to see them with a new look in the league’s biggest day in the regular season, the fact that the Thunder’s fail to accomplish even that puts them at the bottom of the power rankings.
Credit: New Orleans Pelicans (Twitter)
9. New Orleans Pelicans
Just as the Thunder suffer from not really changing up their normal jerseys in terms of where they come in on these power rankings, so to do the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans’ uniforms for Christmas day simply look like their regular uniforms with a different font and less color, which again defeats the purpose of the special look.
That being said, New Orleans slots in ahead of Oklahoma City because of the fact that less color in the jerseys for the Pelicans is not a bad thing. The Pelicans’ normal jerseys look a bit too busy with all of the colors that are featured and dumbing that down a bit, despite their problems, makes them ultimately better.
Next: Nos. 8-6
Credit: Adidas
8. Los Angeles Clippers
There’s going to be a theme for Nos. 8-6 in these power rankings in the fact that, for better or worse (more worse) the trio of uniforms all look quite similar. However, the Clippers slot in at No. 8 because they too have uniforms for Christmas Day that are eerily similar to their old uniforms. While that makes them better than the new, re-designed look that they unleashed on the league and the souls this season, that doesn’t exactly make them anything even remotely special.
Credit: Rockets Insider (Twitter)
7. Houston Rockets
If you feel like you’ve seen these before, that’s because they are nearly identical to the Clippers uniforms. While they look good in a vacuum, I’m not a huge fan of how little it makes Houston stand out on the holiday slate of games. Singularity is important and the Rockets are going to look like, not one, but two other teams on Christmas Day.
Credit: Darren Rovell (Twitter)
6. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are another team on Christmas Day (the third in this trio) rocking a red jersey with the white/cream colored lettering. However, they come in ahead of the Rockets and Clippers largely because there is a bit of a modernized throwback feel with the Bulls’ jerseys. They call back to their jerseys from the 1980s with a newer feel to them. Considering how great those old uniforms were, that works in their favor here.
Next: No. 5 and No. 4
Credit: Adidas
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a bit of a similar look with their Christmas Day jerseys that they do with some of their normal looks, however, these stand out a bit because of the more muted colors in the lettering and striping as opposed to the gold that can often be an eyesore on top of the wine.
The lessening of the colors on these Cleveland jerseys are a great look for the Cavs, but so are the stripes on the shorts; the stripes really set these uniforms a part from the rest. They only come in at No. 5 because of their similarity to some of their other uniforms, even down to the cursive font, but they are overall a great effort at a Christmas Day jersey.
Credit: HEAT 15-9 (Twitter)
4. Miami Heat
The Miami Heat’s jerseys have a somewhat similar color-scheme to the Cavaliers and don’t have the stripes, but they are slotted ahead because theirs offer one of the most unique looks of all the Christmas Day uniforms, starting with the logo on the shorts. That’s something only featured on a handful of the holiday jerseys and the iconic Heat logo is a great addition on these muted colors.
Moreover, the “H” on the jersey really stands out more than almost any other lettering out of all 10 jerseys. As strange as it may sound, the shortness of their mascot actually works in their favor in the way that it causes the cursive lettering to really pop because of the size of it on the Miami jerseys. Overall, it just makes for a great look.
Next: No. 3
Credit: San Antonio Spurs (Twitter)
3. San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs have one of the most classic looks in the entire NBA with the black, white, and silver on their uniforms. However, these Christmas Day uniforms only serve to improve that look by making things even cleaner on the Spurs uniform. The large amount of white/cream on the jerseys with the black lettering, numbering, and trim look fantastic, especially with the white shorts.
This is just a great overall look regardless of the fact that they do look a bit similar to their normal uniforms. The Christmas card lettering makes them pop even more than the black and white/cream look already does. It’s just a great looking jersey by itself, but what makes it even better is that it’s for the Spurs.
Of all the uniforms, there might not be one more fitting of the team that will be wearing them than the Spurs. San Antonio’s Christmas Day uniforms look fantastic, but it’s their simplicity by and large that ultimately in helps them looking so good. That simplicity is oddly fitting of the Spurs and the way they play. While it’s beautiful basketball that has helped the organization build a dynasty over the years, they have garnered the reputation of being a team all about fundamentals. These uniforms, in a way, reflect that and result in a great look on the holiday.
Next: No. 2
Credit: Los Angeles Lakers (Twitter)
2. Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers don’t quite make it to the top spot, but they are close as they slot in at No. 2. These Christmas Day uniforms for the Lakers are simply hot fire. One of my favorite looks for the Lakers has always been their white uniforms and these are those with major improvements because of the styling of this batch of Christmas jerseys as a whole.
For one, the purple stripes down the sides of the jerseys leading into the shorts looks fantastic on the white/cream jerseys and really make them stand out. Moreover, the fact that the jerseys still incorporate the Lakers’ signature gold color by putting it in the logo on the shorts also make these uniforms stand out even further because that’s not something that any of these other jerseys can boast.
Though all of the uniforms have the cursive, Christmas card style lettering on the front, the “Lakers” on the front of these jerseys just looks astounding. Perhaps that has something to do simply with the brand that the organization has built over decades of success, but it also just looks amazing in the royal purple on these jerseys. These Lakers uniforms are some of the most memorable of the bunch and almost crack the top spot in these power rankings.
Next: Who Is No. 1?
Credit: Adidas
1. Golden State Warriors
The only team to come in ahead of the Lakers in terms of the Christmas Day jersey power rankings is a team that just stays winning in the Golden State Warriors. Quite frankly, they are just unfair in about every aspect of the NBA right now. They are running every opponent out of the gym (except for the Milwaukee Bucks on one night) and now they are going to be looking better than any other team on Christmas Day.
For one, the blue jerseys give them an individuality that no other team will have on Christmas. While the Thunder and the Pelicans have the navy blue, the royal blue stands out tremendously. Moreover, the cream colored lettering and striping on the jerseys almost looks like a remix of their normal yellow in their color-scheme, which gives the uniforms and even more special feel.
The best part is that the Warriors jerseys again found a way to incorporate the Bay Area, something that they always have a knack for doing with their uniforms. The way that the striping mimics the bridge wiring of the Golden Gate Bridge just looks phenomenal and really just adds the cherry on top of the best Christmas Day uniforms in 2015.
Next: What Does Vintage Kobe Mean for the Lakers?
What do you think? Do the Warriors have the best uniforms for Christmas Day? Is it the Lakers? Or is it another team? Let us know in the comments.