Washington Wizards brass released the teams’ new Nike uniforms that it will wear beginning in the 2017-18 season. It seemed like every team in the league had already showcase its new unis. After much excitement, the jerseys seem extremely similar to previous versions.
Happy Jersey Day! The Wizards promoted the released of their new Nike uniforms a day in advance on social media, and had fans dreaming of the various options the team would be rocking at Verizon Center this season.
On Wednesday, the team and Nike officially released the designs.
The Association Edition. #DCFamily pic.twitter.com/8b9cxixrPA
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) August 3, 2017
The Icon Edition. #DCFamily pic.twitter.com/jQDE7w1BuN
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) August 3, 2017
Some teams took the opportunity to work with Nike to revamp their design. Others, like Washington, went with a pretty similar design. The only real changes of note are the Nike swoosh and the basketball logo on the front of the shorts.
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Of course, Washington last revamped its jersey design in 2011, so it hasn’t been that long. Additionally, only two of the team’s four jersey sets were released. It’s expected one of the jerseys will be the Stars & Stripes style that became so popular during the season that the team wore them for all home playoff games, and the retail versions sold out before the postseason began.
The biggest surprise for me was that the Wizards jersey sponsor was not included in the designs. Many other teams announced their jersey sponsor alongside the Nike release.
It’s possible the team is waiting to announce the sponsor alongside the official announcement of the team’s new arena naming sponsor.
While fans may be disappointed by the jersey release (check the comments on those Twitter posts), I am extremely excited to see what other apparel is available come October 1.
Next: John Wall: No Off Season Debut
Nike showed with their rollout of NFL apparel over the last three or four years that the company has some very creative ideas to market individual teams.