NBA Throwbacks Give us ’90s Designs

Forget about throwing all the way back to the ‘70s. Or even ‘80s. The NBA is tossing its uniform set back just a little less. Think of it more as a free throw, instead of a three-pointer. It’s time for the ‘90s.

This year’s NBA Hardwood Classics nights, now a tradition in the NBA that invites teams to place nostalgic designs on uniforms, features a 1990s generation of uniforms, complete with the oversized graphics, pinstripes and oh-so-much drop shadowing.

In the first image released by Adidas on Friday, Feb. 1, we get to take a look at the pinstripe-heavy Pacers and Bulls. Indiana’s blue stripes on a white background accented with plenty of yellow may be the most classic jersey of the set.

In terms of bold graphics, you’ve got your pick between Phoenix’s crazy orange—and not the cool PHX orange worn in more recent years—the in-your-face hawk from Atlanta, complete with gradient shading, mind you, and the buck for Milwaukee reminiscent of a Cabela’s store. They all come at your in an oddly different way.

Of course, if you simply want some basic ‘90s design, you can feast your eyes on the drop-shadow the Heat offer, or the checkered pattern from the Kings.

The ‘90s certainly provided an “interesting” era for uniforms in the NBA and fortunately it dissipated relatively quickly. But we have it again, large bucks and all.