All 30 NBA City Jerseys RANKED

My ranking of ALL 30 NBA CITY JERSEYS 

All rankings reflect my own opinions, you are free to have your own and to agree or disagree with mine as much or as little as you please. If you'd like to discuss opinions respectfully, feel free to leave a comment! All images are from sportslogos.net unless otherwise noted, as well as most of the background info/ research that I did on the design motivations. Enjoy the list! 

30. Los Angeles Clippers

I just really don’t like this jersey. The font just doesn’t hit with me, and the colors lack any sort of creativity. Some people may like the simplicity of it, but for me they’ve had the worst city jersey two years in a row. 

29. Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks uniform is another that I just don’t think looks good. I learned that they tried to play on the city’s identity of being around water, and as one of my favorite U.S. cities I hate to put them this low, but I just think it’s boring and the water theme is a bit of a stretch. 

28. Cleveland Cavaliers

Apparently, this jersey is supposed to represent Cleveland’s rock and roll history, but I just really don’t see it. The only character on this jersey is the font on the chest, and it doesn’t scream rock and roll to me at all. It looks like a more plain version of the Brooklyn Nets jersey that will appear later on this list. 

27. Sacramento Kings

I actually really like the design of this jersey, but quite simply, I cannot rank a jersey with “SACTOWN” across the chest very highly on my list. 

26. Indiana Pacers

This jersey is one of a few on this list that just looks like they ignored the assignment. All they did here was modernize a jersey from their glory days. Looks ok, but not good enough to make up for the lack of creativity with the assignment. 

25. Oklahoma City Thunder

This is another jersey that looks visually appealing, but I’m just not sure it screams “City Jersey” to me. The Oklahoma is supposed to represent the state flag, but in that case, I would rather them go all in with the design and fully embrace the flag design. 

24. Detroit Pistons

Detroit has the opportunity to really knock this concept out of the park, and if I remember correctly, they were one of the first NBA teams with their navy blue “Motor City” alternates a while back (which I really liked). This one looks like a team that has been doing this for a while and is out of designs. One of the best city nicknames in the league produces one of the most uncreative designs on this list. 

23. Golden State Warriors

This may be a nice jersey, but the problem is huge here. The Warriors play in San Francisco, not Oakland. It got some brownie points for the design and colors, but I can’t let it go anywhere near the top 20 “City” jerseys when it doesn’t represent the city they play in. 

22. Los Angeles Lakers

I really like the idea of honoring a club great in Elgin Baylor with these jerseys, but I don’t think the city “City” program is the best place to do so. I’d rather them go with a black base like they’ve done in the past, but it is a really nice looking jersey. 

21. Toronto Raptors

The Raptors chose to make their jersey Drake themed, and in my opinion that kind of misses the point of the assignment. Drake may be a famous person from Toronto, but I think going away from the North identity is a mistake here. It also would look a lot better with a more shiny looking gold, similar to the Mavs jerseys later in the list. 

20. New York Knicks

This one gets a “good effort” for me. Maybe they were going for an around the clock metaphor or something with the circular design but using “city never sleeps” as their mantra rather than the Big Apple or some other slogan is a questionable choice. The black base makes the orange and blue pop on the side though, which is a positive for this one. 

19. Atlanta Hawks 

I like the concept for this MLK inspired jersey, but my gut instinct just doesn’t the design. We’re into the area of this list where I like most of the jerseys remaining, so this is more a case of preferring the rest of the jerseys rather than disliking this one. 

18. Boston Celtics

I really like the thinking behind these jerseys, but I don’t know if it was right for a jersey. These kind of look like practice jerseys to me, and while I do enjoy the simplicity, I think the missed opportunity of a Boston Strong jersey honoring the response to the 2013 Marathon Bombing, or a Revolutionary War themed jersey makes this one extra disappointing. 

17. Denver Nuggets

I think this jersey is ok, but I don’t really have much to say about it. I don’t necessarily dislike any of it, but none of it really gets me excited either. 

16. Miami Heat

This is kind of a weird one for me. It honestly might be one of the better ones in the league, but it’s such a step down from the past couple editions of this jersey in my opinion, and the split gradient design looks a little too busy for me. I could definitely see people loving this jersey, and I’m sure it will be huge among the college or high school demographic, but I have it this low (maybe too low) because of the regression it’s taken. 

15. Brooklyn Nets

This is a really fun jersey in my opinion. It keeps the general Nets black and white identity, but adds a fun splash of color and honors the culture of Brooklyn nicely. 

14. Washington Wizards

The Wizards went for the low hanging fruit here, but I’m always a sucker for U.S. flag themed apparel. I like the subtlety of it being on the side paneling, and the logo is one of my favorites in the NBA. A good jersey, but nothing exceptional. 

13.  Philadelphia 76ers

(photo via usatoday.com)

At first glance I really disliked this jersey. After reading more about it though, I think it’s a really cool design. The Sixers have had some of the better city jerseys in recent years, with a special shoutout to their Declaration of Independence jerseys. The riverside houses make for a nice variation of the skyline look and wrap up a really solid design. 

12. San Antonio Spurs

This Spurs jersey may be a bit highly ranked, but that is due to the way it differs itself from the Spurs typical classic look. It’s a simple design, but it’s an appealing one, and I don’t think many people are going to hate this jersey. 

11. Dallas Mavericks

I love this jersey. I’m absolutely a sucker for anything commemorating a championship, with special acknowledgement to FIFA’s World Cup winner’s badge, so this jersey honoring the 2011 NBA Champions is right up my alley. The gold on this jersey pops so much more than that of the Hawks and Raptors and pairing it with a simple white jersey makes for a very clean look. 

10. Houston Rockets

I really like how this Rockets jersey is so unique from the rest of their set. It really reminds me of the old Houston Oilers colors, and I think the simple, yet bold colors really make for an appealing jersey. 

9. Memphis Grizzlies

This is another artist inspired jersey, and I don’t really know much about the artist it was inspired by, Isaac Hayes, but I love the design and the unique colors. I think this will look really sharp on the court, especially with someone like Ja Morant wearing it. 

8. Orlando Magic

This jersey really captures the Florida essence in my opinion. I love the use of orange and the pinstripes call back to their Shaq era uniforms which on a white base make a fun creamsicle look. 

7. Utah Jazz

This is a great jersey, but not necessarily a fresh one from the Jazz. I like how it looks like a sunset that could be seen on the Utah horizon, and it remains one of the best city jerseys in the league, if not just jerseys in general, but I think the fact that it is so similar to their previous jerseys stops it from creeping into the top 5. 

6. Chicago Bulls

Chicago has done really well with this design. I’ve liked their flag themed uniforms the last few years, so I was confused and skeptical when I saw how different these were, but the architecture based design is really cool in this uniform, and it just works for me. 

5. Phoenix Suns

I was torn between this jersey and the Jazz for this spot, but I think the wordmark really sells this jersey for me. The sunset theme is awesome, and I think they’ve done it really well on this jersey. I’ve enjoyed the Suns’ uniform sets for a while, since they switched to the simple design 5 or 6 years ago, and this is just another great jersey to add to a great set. 

4. Portland Trailblazers

The topographic map on this jersey is just a stroke of genius. This jersey just exudes Lumberjack energy, and it fits my image of the Northwest so perfectly. I also appreciate how unique the color scheme is, and the font coloring fits in with the jersey so nicely as well. The designers of this jersey deserve very high praise.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

Basing this jersey on the North Star is an awesome idea. I love the dark base with lime accents, and the silver font stands out in a fantastically subtle way. The Timberwolves might just have my favorite uniform set in the league, and this might be my favorite jersey in the set. All the colors work so well together, and they really use the lime green to perfection.

2. New Orleans Pelicans

This is probably my favorite jersey based on looks alone. It’s so simple but clean. The gold fleur de lis triangle on the chest is such a beautiful design. This is a jersey that I find myself wanting just because of how nice it looks. I didn’t even realize that it is essentially the city flag when I first saw it, but that only elevates my opinion of it. New Orleans knocked it out of the stadium on this one. 

1. Charlotte Hornets

While the Pelicans is my favorite design, this is by far the best city jersey in my opinion. First of all, it’s a gorgeous jersey. The mint looks so nice as the base color. Secondly, the meaning behind the mint, and the creativity to transfer it to this jersey is incredible. For anyone who doesn’t know (because I didn’t), Charlotte was the location of the first U.S. branch mint. Using that information as the motivation to make a mint green jersey is awesome. The gold also represents coins and money, but further than that, it honors the Carolina gold rush, while the granite represents the North Carolina state rock. All three colors have fantastic and meaningful connections to the Hornets’ location and that, to me, captures the true purpose of these city jerseys.  

twitter: @ndrsn27