The NBA is known for allowing its teams to take some risks with alternate uniforms, and as such the 2024-25 array of City Edition jerseys were revealed Thursday. There were some grand slams in the bunch, but others fell flat.
The reigning champion Boston Celtics had one of the most disappointing City Edition entries. Their modern twist on an iconic jersey just didn’t come together, and the same can be said for the New York Knicks.
On the other end of the spectrum, teams like the Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz gave the people what they wanted with different takes on popular throwback designs. Then, the Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons came up with truly unique and stylish jerseys that should fly off the shelves in those cities.
Let’s see who stood out, for better or worse, with the 2024-25 City Edition jersey rankings.
30. Boston Celtics
Coming off the franchise’s 18th NBA title, this is the direction we’re going with the City Edition uniforms? That is certainly a choice. The Celtics have one of the most iconic looks in all of sports, so creating an alternate will always be a challenge, but the neon green and modern font is not a winner. Let’s just drop some highlighter yellow into the next Bruins sweater while we’re at it.
At first glance, I was puzzled about what the Bulls were going for here, then I read that these jerseys are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the United Center. That made a little more sense, but it would have been cool to see this jersey pay some kind of homage to legendary team that won three straight titles in the arena.
Minnesota gets a lot of snow and ice. That seems to be what this jersey boils down to, and the large amount of white space is a little maddening.
Miami could have come up with some really cool options, but this looks like a catchphrase or a bumper sticker slapped onto a red jersey. I admire Heat Culture as much as anyone else, but this look pales in comparison to other City Edition uniforms.
Bring back the wizard. I just want to see a bearded wizard with a basketball on a jersey. Washington has a unique mascot and elects not to lean into it.
This design doesn’t work for me, but I do want to credit the Nets for turning the City Edition jersey over to local artist KAWS. This look definitely stands out from other jerseys, but it’s not moving the needle for yours truly.
24. New York Knicks
Much like the Celtics, coming up with an alternate jersey when the original is nearly perfect is a tall task for the Knicks. While I like this one more than the Celtics’ City Edition look, it still falls flat. The double