Ranking the 2019/20 NBL City Jerseys
First Ever's second edition of the colourful and vibrant 'City' themed jerseys were released to the public eye yesterday, with the nine NBL clubs set to wear their homeland's colours throughout specific times this season.
With the release only a number of hours old it’s always an amazing aspect post jersey releases, seeing the hottest of takes from fans who either love of loathe their team’s newest threads.
Who doesn't love a hot take?
Below, we’ll provide a non-unique insight as the hottest of hot takes have already been done for us, but a ranking system will be put in place to see the best NBL City jersey for season 2019/20!
Before we proceed, we must provide kudos to the graphic design team at NBLHQ/First Ever HQ for the fire graphics that were provided upon release:
https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1191853422389026817
And the video production crew for a lovely complimentary piece:
https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1191932117846044674
Ok we know you're here for the 9 to 1, so let's get cracking!
9: Brisbane Bullets
https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets/status/1191958717492842498
It's funny that we start off with black when it comes to our number nine team because black is the easiest to get right and the easiest to sell. So it's disappointing that Brisbane couldn't quite nail their City jersey when picking black. Their new thicker font just doesn't quite seem to work when the text hasn't quite been stretched vertically like their home/road jerseys.
8: South East Melbourne Phoenix
https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix/status/1191884764648595456
It's not that the Phoenix's City jersey is awful, it's just the fact that there could have been so much more to it. Their first crack at a City jersey was always going to have the 'Heartland' tag on the front after their excellent marketing period prior to their first official game and beyond, however they're a team that is highlighted and recognised by their lime green logo. It's unfortunate that they've stuck to safety a little bit here as there were a lot of people who were fans of their lime pre-season get-up and we'd had thought their inaugural City jersey would have been of that dominant colour. You can almost guarantee that it will be the case in Season Two.
7: Sydney Kings
https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1191869391123570694
A third consecutive black jersey rounds out our bottom three and it's the Sydney Kings who take the top spot of the black City jerseys. Purple on black isn't usually a good thing, the number just looks to be far too close to the bottom purple line and the font just isn't one that lines up to be a Sydney special. The Kings have been very good on the jersey front in recent times but it seems this one just misses the mark.
6: Perth Wildcats
https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats/status/1191857904032219136
The Wildcats have provided some consistency when they elected to follow the Sunset trend from last season's City themed jersey, however their new Sunset City threads could become a little hard to read when on the hardwood and that black sticker stands out like a fish out of water.
5: Melbourne United
https://twitter.com/MelbUnitedHQ/status/1191858688778264577
So you may have noticed when we called the Kings' jersey the best of the black. Well, Melbourne's colours are technically supposed to be dark blue right? Whatever the case, United have hit the mark here in more ways than one. Their 'Diverse-City' mark is very well done and they have kept a consistent basis with their jersey before playing around with the trim. Remember when the Brooklyn Nets won fans over with their City jersey last year?
https://twitter.com/brooklynnets/status/1060701722656395264?lang=en
4: Adelaide 36ers
https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1191859073018318849
Many labeled the Sixers jersey dull and boring, however we think they've hit the mark when it comes to less is more. Everyone knows how successful the blue/pink combination is in modern day sports and the Sixers may just be starting something which they can run with for a number of seasons. It's ranked number four for that very reason - the future and evolution. Could this become a staple of Adelaide's road jerseys for the future?
3: New Zealand Breakers
https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1191937812637134848
The Breakers usually have a knack of producing colourful and different jerseys. Over time they have implemented the baby blue into their road jerseys which has worked a treat, before jumping into the starry pink for their City themed jersey last season. They've gone again this year with an array of colours in their Aotearoa jersey, which is the Maori name for New Zealand. Nice touch.
2: Cairns Taipans
https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1191853472682889217
The Taipans jersey is nice! It goes away from their dominant orange and really dials in on that Queensland beach blue alongside the tropic nature of Far North Queensland for its sides. It's a jersey that just sings out Cairns and and it finishes off with the outline of FNQ on the front of the jersey to signify the clubs work that it does with the entire community, not just Cairns itself.
1: Illawarra Hawks
https://twitter.com/IllawarraHawks/status/1191937307076681728
Their tweet says it all. The representation of Illawarra is loud and clear, which is exactly what it's supposed to be about. The logo is correctly placed and the sponsor fits in cleanly. However, the best part about their jersey is how it fits into the scheme of their entire collection. For too many years, the Hawks have gone with two-tone home/road jerseys which can be quite difficult when they play teams such as Perth. They now have a distinct black, white and red jersey slate without having to lose anything in design.
Well done to all teams and designers for putting together this seasons City themed edition of threads.