NBA Reveals All 2021 Earned Edition Uniforms

The NBA officially unveiled their Earned Edition uniform series earlier today, the release confirms the league-wide leak which we reported on four months ago.

WATCH: NBA’s 2020-21 Earned Edition uniforms leaked (from Dec. 2020)

The Earned Uniform, is making a return after a year off back in 2019-20. The idea of the “Earned Uniform” is that it is reserved for those teams that were fortunate enough to qualify for the previous season’s playoffs. It’s kinda silly but if it gets the Raptors to wear purple again, well then, let’s do it.

Let’s roll through them team-by-team, some of these images are from the original leak back in December but I’ve replaced many with actual photographs from the team where available, my commentary remains the same because, well, the uniforms are the same:

Brooklyn Nets 2021 Earned Uniform

Brooklyn going black with Nets across the front, nice, and what appears to be a NYC subway sign style design.

Boston Celtics 2021 Earned Uniform

The Boston Celtics, who are running out of third colours to throw on their uniforms, have now turned to neon green, seemingly. Green on green team name and player number is always a bad idea.

Dallas Mavericks 2021 Earned Uniform

I could’ve sworn the Dallas Mavericks have worn this uniform before — it’s just so similar to their usual set that it’s almost not worth wearing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly not a bad design, far from it!

Milwaukee Bucks 2021 Earned Uniform

Now this is a uniform. The Milwaukee Bucks embracing the deer motif, fear the deer, the antlers running up the side of the uniform from the knees up to the arms — feels like this should be their full-time design. A shame it’ll be discarded after the season but I have a feeling we’ll see this style again from the Bucks in the future, recoloured a million different ways as future City and Earned designs.

Denver Nuggets 2021 Earned Uniform

The Denver Nuggets breaking out the retro red, white, blue, and gold colour scheme here, turning the clock back to their first few seasons as a franchise. Love it.

Houston Rockets 2021 Earned Uniform

Not much to say about the Houston Rockets and their Earned Edition uniform for 2020-21, a black version of their usual set.

Los Angeles Lakers 2021 Earned Uniform

We knew the Los Angeles Lakers would try to work their black uniform in somehow and I’m glad they were able to squeeze it in as their Earned Edition set, the Black Mamba returns in 2021.

LA Clippers 2021 Earned Uniform

If you ever wondered what one of the most dull brands in the league would look like without colour, wonder no more, the LA Clippers are happy to give you a look. Grey with white lettering and trim, they did throw in a sliver of red and blue though down each side.

Orlando Magic 2021 Earned Uniform

This just feels right, doesn’t it? And yeah, I do prefer the Magic wearing black with pinstripes, but this works well with a very horizontal logo across the chest and the star pattern up the sides. A great look for the Orlando Magic!

Miami Heat 2021 Earned Uniform

Miami has worn white, black, red, pink, and a rainbow but never gold and that changes in 2021 with their new gold and black Earned Edition uniform — nope, no red to be found on this one. Bumblebee approves.

Toronto Raptors 2021 Earned Uniform

A giant purple chevron from the knees to the pits (it’s the pits alright), I’ll just focus on the positive here — the Toronto Raptors are ready to embrace purple again, I’ll accept that this is a first step and they’ll improve it from here.

Philadelphia 76ers 2021 Earned Uniform

Cream as the base, we’re guessing as a nod to the Declaration of Independence as they’ve done in the past, and a giant Liberty Bell to hold the player numbers — the Philadelphia 76ers are really tapping into their city and its historic role in the founding of the United States. Appropriate considering their name, of course.

Portland Trail Blazers 2021 Earned Uniform

The Portland Trail Blazers figured they’d remove red from their look, we’re not sure why but I’m assuming there’s some symbolism here — without that context, I’m left scratching my head.

Utah Jazz 2021 Earned Uniform

While many think of Utah as a purple team, there’s a few of us out there still who can’t help but picture their old green and golds whenever we think back on this team. Utah wore green and gold for a couple of seasons back in the ’80s and they return to that look here for their 2021 Earned Edition set.

Indiana Pacers 2021 Earned Uniform

A simple, but great look for the Indiana Pacers — pair this up with their City Edition uniform and you’ve got a great one-two combo (with blue instead of grey, of course… what are we doing here?)

Oklahoma City Thunder 2021 Earned Uniform

Oklahoma City’s primary set is so bland that anything they come up with as a Statement, City, or Earned uniform just looks great by comparison. Here we go again, and again another two-colour set in this collection, just two shades of blue, no orange, no gold.

So that’s it, I mean that’s gotta be it by this point, we’ve now seen all the Icon, Association, Statement, City, Classic, and now Earned Edition uniforms (c’mon… six? this is getting silly) that the NBA has in store for its 2020-21 season. Nothing left to come as far as I can tell.

Check out all our coverage on the NBA’s new uniforms and logos for 2020-21 right here.

We also did some handy video recaps of the new 2021 NBA City Edition Uniforms and 2021 NBA Earned Edition Uniforms, check those out on our YouTube channel.