If you’re hoping to see Kevin Durant wear a Toronto jersey in 2016, you might not have to wait very long. Unfortunately, we aren’t referring to a Raptors jersey per se, but the NBA’s newly-unveiled uniforms for this February’s All-Star Game in Hogtown.
To mark the league’s first All-Star Weekend outside of the U.S., the design team at Adidas dove deep into Toronto’s culture and storied basketball heritage. The colour scheme and simple lettering for the East, for instance, are a direct homage to the Toronto Huskies, who played in the very first game in NBA (then known as the Basketball Association of America) history: a 1946 tilt against the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Both uniforms also feature Toronto’s skyline emblazoned across the back, an incredibly subtle maple leaf design hidden on the chest area, and a smattering of black-and-gold detailing in reference to home team’s Drake-inspired alternate jerseys. The coolest thing about the uniforms, though, isn’t visible at all when worn: as an acknowledgment of both the NBA’s global appeal and Toronto’s multiculturalism, stitched inside the collar and waistband are geometrically-patterned bands featuring the colours from the flags of every country that this season’s likeliest All-Star players hail from.
And, finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss the incredible military-inspired warmup jackets. The sleek, minimalist bomber silhouette comes decked out in hefty charcoal fleece, with the player’s names stitched across the front and patches indicating all of his career accomplishments embroidered on the right sleeve. They’re easily the most wearable item off-the-court, and will be pitch perfect for battling the Toronto climate when All-Star Weekend rolls around in the dead of winter.
Take a look at the entire collection in the gallery below.
