There isn't a more aesthetically driven sport than basketball. The best players can earn more money selling shoes than playing for their teams. Jerseys and starter jackets have both seen moments as hot fashion trends. Basketball is a sport built on myth-making. Faces aren't obscured by helmets. We're meant to see and identify with the stars. That means that they have to look cool.
Naturally, some teams do a far better job of that than others. So today, we're going to rank all 30 of the NBA's uniforms for the 2025-26 season. Teams have more jerseys than ever, so how are we doing this? More weight will be given to each team's Association and Icon jerseys, as those are the ones they wear most often. However, Statement and City Edition uniforms will also be considered. So, what makes a uniform good or bad? We'll be judging on the following criteria:
Color scheme. Is a team mixing colors that actually work well together? Is it using too many or too few colors?
Theming. Does a uniform just say a word, or does it actively invoke the feeling of the team's name? Is the design connected to the team's home city? Essentially, does it feel as though the team's name and city were actually relevant components of the design process, or could these uniforms have been slapped together for any old team?
Uniqueness. Does the uniform have some design factor that is either rare across the league, or at least rarely executed well?
History. The Celtics have relatively simple uniforms. They've won 18 championships wearing them. We love them because they're iconic, not because they represent peak design. A team's history in its uniforms matter.
Coolness. This is subjective. You know it when you see it. Is a jersey cool or not?
So with that in mind, let's rank some uniforms.
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I viscerally dislike almost everything about these uniforms. They represent almost everything wrong with modern NBA design. There is no character here whatsoever, nothing to suggest that a team called the "Timberwolves" is wearing them. The font is as plain as it gets. The horizontal stripe is unnecessarily busy and evokes soccer uniforms. There is no actual design element here whatsoever. A word, some stripes and empty color. Swap the colors and the words and any team could feasibly use these uniforms. They scream "free t-shirt handed out at a corporate picnic" far more than "professional basketball uniform." I have nothing positive to say about the base uniforms. The city editions have been hit or miss, with many more successfully harkening back to the team's past or integrating local concepts. Really, though, there's no reason this team should have ever abandoned its Kevin Garnett-era look. They were flawless. Distinct, on-theme and just plain cool. Basically, everything the modern uniforms aren't. Thankfully, those jerseys are back in the rotation this season, and hopefully that inspires Minnesota's new ownership to rebrand with that look as the baseline.
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The irony for New Orleans is that they've nailed several alternates over the years. The VooDoo-inspired City Editions? Gorgeous. The Mardi Gras editions based on king cake? Solid and unique. New Orleans has such a unique cultural and visual identity as a city. There is so much to draw on, and the team has done so for its less-used uniforms. So how did the standard jerseys wind up so dull? The only real local flavor here is the font. Nothing about them feels fit for a team called the Pelicans, and that suggests that this is a team that could probably use a new name. Navy and gold can work as a color scheme, but probably not in basketball. It works for Notre Dame football because the gold can actually shimmer. But in basketball, the navy just overpowers it. The Pelicans could bolt up these rankings by just adopting one of its City Editions as a full-time uniform, but until then, yawn.
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The Pelicans have a boring name, but the Wizards seem actively ashamed of their name. There is nothing magical about these jerseys anymore. You couldn't have at least dotted the "i" with a star? They've more or less retreated into the visual identity they used when they were called the "Bullets," except they obviously won't readopt that name, so they're stuck in this weird limbo of dressing like a team they aren't. If you're going to keep using the name "Wizards," then make uniforms that feel appropriate for such a team. Teal worked for that name. Even the gold alternate from the Gilbert Arenas era made sense, with the stars on the side fitting both a magical theme and a patriotic one for a team playing in Washington. But if you're dead set on the standard, obvious red, white and blue coloring for a team in the nation's capital, pick a name that actually suits it. Why not adopt "Senators?" The city's baseball team once used it, but now that they're the Nationals, it's up for grabs. The Cherry Blossom alternates are the only saving grace here.
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What a tragedy Toronto's uniforms have become. They exploded out of the gate with one of the best sets of uniforms in NBA history. Each successive update has been worse than the last. The arrow is at least evocative of Toronto's "We the North" slogan... except Toronto isn't actually the northernmost NBA city (Portland is), and reading unaligned letters is a chore. The old purple was distinct. Now, the Raptors are competing with several other NBA teams that use red and black better than they do. Their 2020-21 City Editions used three slashes across the pants as Raptor-y imagery. If the jerseys are going to be this bland, why not at least adopt that as a full-time feature, especially at a time in which so few NBA teams are doing anything interesting with their shorts? The stripe adds nothing. The one little feature that works is the maple leaf on the shorts, but it's so small it can't make up for everything else that's gone wrong here.
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The purple should be far more prominent. The Kings have essentially made it their tertiary color, which is strange considering it's the color of royalty. For script to work as a uniform font, it needs to take advantage of all of the space on the jersey. It's far too flat on these uniforms. The crown dotting the "i" needs to be far more prominent. You can barely tell it's there as is. There's a good uniform concept in here somewhere, and these are definitely an improvement over the old jerseys that simply had "SAC" across the front, but they need more refinement to stand out in any notable way.
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The Sonics never wore a bad uniform, and I'm not convinced the Thunder have ever had an especially good one. It's a word on a blank canvas. Nothing more. They don't even get especially creative with alternates. The old Statement Edition at least tried to replicate the disorienting feeling of hearing hearing, but that also just created a bit of an eyesore. The Native American-inspired City Edition from the 2018-19 season is probably their best effort, both evoking local history and creating a fairly distinct look. But by and large, this is just a team that doesn't take design risks. There isn't much to say here.
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The Warriors are the only team that has ever gotten circular text right on a jersey. For everyone else, it's a distraction. The side trim is interesting, but you just barely notice it. Your eye is fully drawn to the circle of text, and there's nothing especially interesting about that text. Is the idea to convey a wheel, given the city's racing history? The 80s jerseys got that idea across much more cleanly with simple lines in the text. There's hope here, as the Pacers have historically had very nice uniforms and usually do well with their alternates. Just banish the circle text.
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Dallas is pretty similar to Oklahoma City in that it's mostly just a word against a blank background, but the Mavericks at least get a bit bolder with colors. The different shades of blue work together, and the slight detailing on the sides helps, but these are just too boring to rank any higher. They've also largely whiffed on their alternates. The only City Edition that worked was the 2021-22 reboot of their far better throwbacks, and the Statement Editions are some of the worst in the league.
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The font is really the only thing here giving the Grizzlies a distinct visual identity. They could have owned baby blue as a primary color, so the over-reliance on navy is frustrating. These fall into the mostly boring bucket. They're better than the Mavericks and Thunder, but they commit an own-goal basically every time they wear an alternate because virtually all of them are great. The Memphis Sounds City Edition from last season was so nice and so geographically appropriate that it wouldn't be crazy for the Grizzlies to consider a name change and fully embrace the city's old ABA heritage. The Vancouver versions of the jersey, green with text covered in claw marks and a trim with indigenous symbols, feels much more fitting for a team called the Grizzlies. There's just not much going on with the standard uniforms.
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The Clippers did well to bring back the script font, and theirs makes better use of the space than Sacramento's does. But it lost a lot of the charm it once held, especially in its earlier incarnations, when it almost looked like a shoelace, a pretty underused bit of imagery in the sport. The adoption of navy, even if it's appropriate for a maritime-themed team, is a bit disappointment just given the the color's oversaturation in sports uniforms. They definitely upgraded over the far blander uniforms they'd worn for the previous decade or so, and the wraparound "LAC" logo was one of the worst in all of sports, but these are ultimately still pretty mediocre uniforms.
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The colors are carrying the load here. Red and white is a clean, appealing combination, and the black Statement Editions make the most of both in smaller measures, but we're yet again in the blank canvas section of the list. What's so interesting about the Rockets is that the "R" used in their logo, which is fairly distinct, has never directly shown up on their uniforms. The old jerseys at least used a similar font, but the 2019 change left them with a pretty generic replacement when the logo offers an obviously superior alternative. At least the City Editions tend to be pretty good. The Chinese text, the baby blues and the updated take on their late 90s navy uniforms were all winners.
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No team rebrands more than Cleveland. LeBron James wore three different primary uniforms during his two stints with the Cavs. Remember when their colors were blue and orange? The modern look is fairly low on the lengthy Cavaliers uniform totem poll. The white Association jerseys using the "V" as a net is a nice touch, both distinct and a callback to some of their successful older jerseys. Why didn't the red Icon jerseys copy it? As it stands, there's little here associating the uniforms with the team name. The slashes on the old black and blue uniforms did so. Even the font on the first LeBron-era jerseys accomplished that to some extent. Cleveland's constant rebranding only serves to remind us how much better they used to look.
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Denver is Cleveland's Western Conference equivalent. The Nuggets rebrand all of the time and almost every jersey they've ever used is better than what they're currently wearing. Remember the pickaxe jerseys of the 70s? The rainbow skyline from the 80s and early 90s? The baby blues from the 2000s? Each carried a distinct local flavor. The Nuggets have never had cool jerseys, but they've had beautiful ones. Now, in the best era in franchise history, they're struck with their blandest look yet. The softer yellow works far better with navy than Indiana's does, at least. Speaking of which, the Nuggets do a slightly better job with circular text on their Statement Editions. That's likely because the words are shorter, and it still doesn't work nearly as well as Golden State's does. The saving grace here is that the Nuggets are bringing back their gorgeous 2019-20 City Editions this year. Any rainbow jersey the Nuggets put out is going to be a win, and that should probably be their full-time aesthetic.
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Minimalism works better for the Nets than it does most of the teams we've covered. Using black and white exclusively, as opposed to the Kings mixing in a touch of purple, at least sets the Nets apart. It also serves as a nice contrast to the more colorful Knicks, with whom the Nets share a city. They're cooler than they are aesthetically pleasing, but that can certainly work, and the City Editions are almost always home runs. This year, they're bringing back the Biggie-inspired 2018-19 City Editions with a "Brooklyn Camo" trim that might be the best uniform the Nets have ever worn.
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We're nearing the end of the "acceptable minimalism" portion of the list. Detroit balances red, white and blue far better than Washington does. The font is unspectacular but at least relatively distinct, and the side strips work as imagery in Motor City. The Pistons have used zanier uniforms before. Some of them worked better than others, and it's a shame that the team has completely abandoned the fire horse. Can't it at least stay on the shorts like it did early in the century? However, this is a team and a city for whom simpler uniforms mostly work. They're classic without being dull.
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The jerseys may look like a McDonald's french fry container, but I mean that in as positive a way as I can. Red and yellow is a tried and true color combination, and these jerseys are loud in a pretty reasonable way, emphasizing color over team-specific design elements. That's what's missing here, as the Hawks have had several very nice and more thematic jerseys in the past, but when you factor in their generally strong City Editions, the Hawks almost always look pretty good.
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Forest green is an underused uniform color, and it obviously seems appropriate for a team called the Bucks. The court-inspired beige pairs reasonably well with it, though it isn't exactly a bold color. The Cream City alternates are always a winner, and the antlers on the Statement Edition would be a welcome addition to their other jerseys. Do they stand out as much as the old purple uniforms did? No. But they do their job.
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As you'll see as we climb up this list, I put quite a bit of stock into the league's most iconic looks. For the Lakers to be outside of the top 10 given their history represents a significant failure. They barely ever wear purple anymore, and every year they manage to tweak those jerseys in a way that makes them worse. The Sunday Whites have become the "whenever we feel like it" whites. They've never had a good City Edition. And then there's the yellow. Oh, that dumb, banana yellow. One of the team's unofficial but fairly prominent nicknames is "the purple and gold." Not highlighter yellow. Gold. Fans have universally voiced their displeasure with the shade of the current jerseys. If Mark Walter wants to earn some quick points with the fan base, he'll fix the uniforms. The Lakers, through the sheer, iconic nature of their brand, basically have to garner an above-average ranking. But, boy, are they testing my resolve lately.
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The Suns can be a model for teams that want to push back against the rising tides of bland design. From their 1968 inception through the end of the 20th century, every Suns jersey was a banger. From that point through 2023, every jersey they wore was a dud. Then, finally, when Mat Ishbia bought the team, they revamped the old sunburst logo and started to right the ship. These uniforms are on-theme and unique. This is largely what we should hope for out of contemporary redesigns. The NBA isn't going to readopt the maximalism of the 90s, but it can modernize the design concepts that worked as the Suns have here. My only real complains here are that the colors just don't pop. The purple should be brighter, if nothing else. Fix that and these are top-10 jerseys.
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It's a subtle distinction, but the white Association jerseys work significantly better than the black Icon jerseys for one simple reason: the Association jerseys say "Heat" while the Icon jerseys say "Miami." This matters because the little flare at the end of the "T" in "Heat" is doing all of the heavy lifting here design-wise. That's what connotes the eponymous "heat" here. The "Miami" font just doesn't accomplish that. This wasn't a problem for most of the team's history, as every primary jersey said "Heat" until 2014. Now, we see far more "Miami" than we should. The alternates are all over the map. Everything that has come out of the Vice concept has been great. The "Heat Culture" jerseys are an abomination, The 2021-23 concept looks like a ransom note. Fortunately, the Heat are running back another Vice jersey this season.
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Take note, Wizards. This is what a red, white and blue uniform should look like. It's obviously geographically fitting given Philadelphia's place in American history. The stars make the uniforms feel like living flags. And they're bringing back the Iverson-era throwbacks this year, which are not only beloved, but contrast perfectly with the standard. It should feel like a special occasion when a team wears an alternate, and the Iverson jerseys accomplish that comfortably. My one major complaint here is the half-word "Phila" on the chest. Let's say "Philadelphia" is too long. Fine. Use "Philly." I don't care if the baseball team is literally called the Phillies, that's the city's proper nickname and it would look far better on a jersey.
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I can't tell you why exactly blue and orange work so well together as uniform colors, but they're chocolate and peanut butter on a jersey. The font is simple, yet bold. It's rare for a New York team in any sport to get especially creative aesthetically, but the little things go a long way for teams in this city with this much history. The Yankee pinstripes. The big blue Giants jerseys. They're subtle yet iconic. The Knicks are no different. The 2012 switch from a V-neck to a crewneck is the only thing holding the Knicks back. The sharpness worked nicely with the softer colors the Knicks use.
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Every update makes Portland's uniforms slightly worse... but it's basically impossible to make a bad Blazers jersey. Red, black and white is a killer color combination, and the stripe is simple yet distinct. It's not quite as prominent in the new design, but its presence is always welcome. The pinwheel is one of the best pieces of branding in all of basketball and its presence is welcome whenever it shows up on an alternate jersey. The slow yet steady simplification of the font is disappointing, but the overall concept here works so well that it's hardly a dealbreaker. Few teams can match the cool factor of these designs. Almost everyone who has ever worn a Blazers jersey has looked cool in it. The design might not be as interesting as some of the higher teams on this list, but looking cool can take you pretty far in rankings like these.
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What a harrowing journey it's been. The Jazz had some of the best jerseys of the 90s. They proceeded to spend the next 20 years or so cycling through every color in the rainbow. The last few years were a low not just for Utah, but for NBA design as a whole. The black and yellow monstrosities of their initial Ryan Smith-era reboot were far and away the NBA's worst jerseys. But they've seen the light. Like the Suns, the Jazz have modernized an old concept that worked by bringing back the 90s-era mountains. They're not as colorful as their original counterparts, but they mostly recapture the charm and convey the proper locale. If only they'd ditch "Utah" on the chest in favor of "Jazz." The concept of a Utah-based team maintaining a New Orleans-inspired nickname is one of the NBA's funniest quirks, and the team should lean into that with a jersey that captures Utah's iconography without abandoning its name.
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Orlando didn't quite sink to the design depths that Utah did, but the same basic principle applied. The Magic exploded out of the gates with some of the most beloved jerseys in history before slowly stripping away everything that made them iconic. Now we're back. Pinstripes. Stars. It's 1995 all over again. Well, maybe not quite. The font is streamlined in a way that's certainly more modern, but isn't quite as magical. My biggest complaint is the splotch of blue on the black pinstriped Statement Edition. The black pinstripes are probably the definitive Magic jersey, so if any of the originals should have been adapted faithfully, it should have been them. The blue is an immediate distraction on an already fairly busy design. Still, the Magic largely nailed this redesign. It's a substantial improvement on their last 20 years or so.
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5. Golden State Warriors
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We've brought up circular text a few times now. Why does it work for the Warriors? Because it doesn't surround the number. It surrounds actual art. Very few teams still actually use artwork on their jerseys, but the bridge ties this entire jersey together. Circular text is distracting when it is the only thing to draw the eye. But as an appropriate complement to an existing design, especially one so obviously inspired by the team's locale, it's perfect. As an aside, far more teams should ditch explicit city names in exchange for unofficial monikers as Golden State has. Several years ago, the Clippers subtly started to refer to themselves as the "LA" Clippers instead of the "Los Angeles" Clippers likely as a way to differentiate themselves from the Lakers. They didn't go far enough. The move was to copy Golden State and call themselves the "Hollywood" Clippers. The Wizards have tinkered with "The District" in their jerseys, and a full switch to "D.C." would serve them far better than "Washington." The Warriors nail almost every element of branding, and more teams should follow in their footsteps.
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If you're over the age of 40, now would be the time to go grab your starter jacket. There has never been a wider gap between a team's actual on-court performance and its ultimate cultural legacy. The Hornets have never reached the conference finals, yet for a time, their teal merchandise was a popular as any team's besides perhaps Michael Jordan's Bulls. The logo is an unfortunate downgrade from its 90s counterpart, but the uniforms are an improvement. Keeping the pinstripes monochromatic makes the whole look cleaner. The silhouette of the Hornet on the shorts gives them a bit more character. Even the little touches like the subtle stingers on the "H" and "S" in "Hornets" work to tie together the theme. The look is so effective that it makes you forget that hornets are not, in fact, teal.
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Every other team that wants a simple jersey, take note. This is how you do it. The only distinct piece of this jersey is the "U," but that's all it needs. It draws the eye. It's a literal spur, so it obviously evokes the team name. It feels local. Everything else about this jersey is vanilla, which only amplifies the spur's effect. Black, white and silver is about as bland as a color scheme can get. They even changed the font in 2017, removing the outline to simplify it. That goes badly for most teams. It's an improvement on this largely subtle design. The switch from a crewneck to a V-neck was similarly effective. They're the Spurs, they should feel sharp. This is minimalism done right. It's proof that it's possible to modernize without giving up any semblance of character. This is the model other teams should follow in their own rebrands.
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2. Boston Celtics
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There's nothing unique about Boston's jerseys. They're ultimately no different than many of the blank canvas jerseys I've railed against earlier in this list. It's a word, a number and two colors. That's it. Aside from the welcome clover on the belt, there's nothing interesting about these designs. But a jersey doesn't have to be interesting to be iconic, and iconic is practically a guarantee for a team that's won 18 championships. That Boston has never really redesigned its uniforms only adds to the mystique. The Celtics look the same today as they did when Bill Russell played for them. No team better connects you to its own history and the history of the sport. When you see the green and white, you know a game matters in a way that most teams just can't duplicate. Frankly, the Celtics should be exempt from the entire Statement and City Edition enterprise. They should never wear anything besides green and white. They are closest that the NBA comes visually to Yankee pinstripes or the star helmet for the Cowboys. They nailed it 70 years ago and there's been no reason to adjust since.
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Cue up The Alan Parsons Project. One look at these jerseys and you're practically teleported to 1998. Longtime readers know that anytime I rank basically anything in the NBA, the Bulls are near the bottom. Not when it comes to uniforms. This is where they excel. These jerseys are as iconic as Boston's, but they're far cooler. As we covered with Portland, red, white and black is an easy winner as a color combination. The outlining on the font and numbers help them stand out. Basically every City Edition save the 2023-24 debacle has been a winner, and they're bringing back black pinstripes this year for another hit of nostalgia. There's not much to say here because not much is needed. They're perfectly simple and seared into the memory of every basketball fan that cares at all about the sport's history.