Celtics, Lakers Debut New Uniforms Tonight in NBA Openers

The 2022-2023 NBA regular season tips off tonight with a doubleheader featuring both of last season’s conference champions. In this post, I’ll look at the uniform matchups we can expect to see in tonight’s two games.

CELTICS vs 76ERS UNIFORMS

In the first game, the 2022 Eastern Champion Boston Celtics will host the Philadelphia 76ers for the first of two Bill Russell Nights at the TD Garden this season.

Appropriately enough, the Celtics will pay their respects while wearing their brand new dark green City Edition uniforms — designed in collaboration with Russell himself in the months before his death. The Celtics City Edition uniform pays tribute to Russell’s life and career with a jersey script based on the sign outside the restaurant he owned in the 1960s and eleven diamonds down the side for his 11 NBA championships.

LINK: Boston Celtics logo and uniform history

Philadelphia will counter with their usual white Association Edition uniforms. The 76ers first introduced this uniform for the 2017-18 season; it features seven white stars on the right side and six on the left (get it? 7, 6?) as well as the abbreviated city name “PHILA” across the chest which the Sixers teams of the 1960s had done previously.

LINK: Philadelphia 76ers logo and uniform history

WARRIORS vs LAKERS UNIFORMS

Last season’s NBA Champions, the Golden State Warriors, will raise another banner to the rafters of the Chase Center as they play host to the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at 10 pm ET / 7 pm PT.

Golden State will start the season by wearing their usual white Association uniforms, in use since the 2010-11 season (with a minor update in 2019). The Warriors’ uniform features the Bay Bridge in yellow on a royal blue circle containing the player number on the chest. This design is a modernization of a format used by the Warriors for over twenty seasons from 1966 until 1988.

LINK: Golden State Warriors logo and uniform history

The Los Angeles Lakers counter with their new Statement Edition uniform. Unveiled in late September, the purple uniform features the familiar LAKERS wordmark in italics across the chest in yellow with black trim, player number below in black with a yellow drop shadow. The uniform was designed as a nod to the Lakers’ “Showtime” era of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the black numbers and side panels are meant to represent (try to make it through this one) “the dark arena before the dim lights came on and the show began.”

Right?

LINK: Los Angeles Lakers logo and uniform history