Theeeeeyyyy’re baaaaack! The NBA has teamed up with Adidas to once again design a special uniform for February’s all-star game. While last year’s look took inspiration from Brooklyn, N.Y., this year’s borrowed bits from Toronto, the host city of the Feb. 14 game. The city may have also inspired the corresponding photos because they look like they could’ve been taken off the set of Drake’s “Hotline Bling” video.
Back to the business at hand: “This is the first NBA All-Star Game to be played outside the United States, and it is a very exciting time for basketball in Canada,” Adidas Global Basketball GM Chris Grancio said in a press release on Thursday, so “we’ve incorporated design elements that are inspired by the city’s basketball history, sports culture and unique fashion scene to make an All-Star collection that players and fans will love.”
Included in Toronto-inspired elements are the city’s skyline, which prominently features the CN Tower stretching up toward the left shoulder. Canada’s national symbol, the maple leaf, also gets a design nod as a frame for the NBA’s all-star logo.
The maple leaf shows up again on the uniform’s shorts along with a tribute to the city’s current NBA franchise the Raptors with the claw marks running through the star.
Even the clean, single-layered font has a story behind it. Its design was inspired by the NBA’s very first game played on Nov. 1, 1946, between the Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers, Adidas says.
The same font is available on the corresponding T-shirts, which feature a totally minimal, old-school design.
Decidedly modern, however, is the Kia logo adorned to the upper left chest on the uniforms. This is the first time a major U.S. sports league has included a non-apparel partner’s logo on a uniform. The logo will also appear on T-shirts and other all-star apparel. While some were surprised to see the Kia logo on the uniforms, it’s not unexpected. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has talked about incorporating more advertising on uniforms before and, according to NBA spokeswoman Kim Mandara who e-mailed The Washington Post, the patch is a “key component of a multiyear partnership between Kia, the NBA, and Turner Sports.”
One of the best parts about the new duds, though, are the fleece-lined warm-ups (Canada is cold, y’all), which also feature the maple leaf logo in the colors of the Raptors alternative uniforms.
The jackets also feature a zipper pocket on the arm with patches touting the various awards and titles players have won.
This kind of craftsmanship doesn’t come cheap, however. The all-star jerseys range from $70 to $110, T-shirts are $20-$30 and adult track jackets will cost you anywhere from $110 to $200. Don’t expect Santa to put the all-star items under your tree, according to the NBA, the merch will only be available starting in January.
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