The NBA will become the first major American professional sport to honor teams with championships by adding recognition of a triumphant season to player jerseys.
Starting in the 2014-15 season, the nineteen NBA teams that won championships will have a gold tab to denote their accomplishments affixed to the back of the collars of player jerseys.
.@PhilHecken @sportslogosnet NBA teams will have a gold “mark” on the back collar if the franchise has a title: pic.twitter.com/oDwntb5mSK
— Conrad Burry (@conradburry) July 15, 2014
No other American sport gives recognition on jerseys for teams that won a championship. The idea is similar to that of the star system on jerseys of soccer teams with, say, a World Cup or an Olympic win.
But unlike European football, which adds a new star to the back of player jerseys for every important championship won by the team, the NBA will leave the notation to one gold tab for winning a championship. In other words, the Dallas Mavericks with their one title and the Chicago Bulls with their six will both have but one gold tab on their jerseys.
The jersey change was first reported on Twitter by Conrad Burry.
ESPN also reported several other changes for jerseys in the upcoming season:
The Pacers, Kings and Raptors will have throwbacks. The Celtics and Bulls will have sleeved jerseys for St. Patrick’s Day. The Celtics’ road jersey will now have “Boston” on the chest, instead of “Celtics.” This season’s edition of the Lakers’ black “Hollywood Nights” jerseys will have sleeves. There will be no sleeves, however, for this season’s Hispanic heritage jerseys. Several teams will have new “Pride” jerseys (much like the Pistons’ “Motor City” design or the Blazers’ “Rip City” design), although those jerseys haven’t yet been shown.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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