Ranking Every NBA Team's Greatest Throwback Uniform

Adam FromalJun 4, 2018

Even the youngest teams in the league still have throwback jerseys. Whenever they're put on, the jerseys always remind fans of that team's history.

These jerseys are brought back for a reason. Fans like seeing them because they have historical significance or they simply look cool.

So, which teams have the best throwbacks?

Read on to see the rankings.

30. Miami Heat

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My mom always told me not to say anything if it wasn't kind, true and necessary. So all I'm going to say is that you should move on from this slide as quickly as you can.

But that said, if your eyes are bleeding, please seek medical attention before you go on to the next slide.

29. Indiana Pacers

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The colors here are fine, but the diagonal cutoff between the two colors is absolutely awful. No matter what, you should never look like your front and back are each being cut into triangles.

If that line between the black and yellow had been either vertical or horizontal, the jersey still would have been bad. But it wouldn't have been historically bad.

28. Detroit Pistons

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The color scheme here, with the majority of the jersey only white with the exception of the name and number, is just too plain for my liking.

The lightning bolt extending from the "s" is a nice touch, but it's still a bit over the top. This jersey has some good ideas in it, but it could use a bit of touching up.

27. New Orleans Hornets

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I'm sure that Chris Paul can make this jersey look okay while he plays in it, but that's quite an achievement.

There is way too much black here, and the lettering and numbers are just too plain. There really just isn't anything to this throwback.

26. Portland Trail Blazers

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The red, white and black is a nice color scheme, but that's the only nice thing I have to say about these jerseys.

There is a reason that teams have historically chosen to put the team name and the number in the same spot on virtually every jersey. Having the number and the word "blazers" on the sides of the uniform just really doesn't work.

25. Dallas Mavericks

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I really like the font on this jersey, but the green and the blue don't really mesh well together.

Plus, Dallas is completely associated with blue and white in my mind. I don't think that the green should be included at all, much less be the dominant color in the scheme.

24. Minnesota Timberwolves

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See previous slide for my problems with the blue and green color scheme.

At least blue is the dominant color in this one.

23. Houston Rockets

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The red and white color scheme looks pretty good here, but I don't particularly like the yellow trimming around the neck and sleeves.

Also, the jerseys are a little bit too plain and the word "Houston" looks strange because it's not completely level. Even though that was intentional, it was still a bad decision.

22. Charlotte Bobcats

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I really like these jerseys but they don't have enough history to be any higher up. They really can't be considered throwbacks per se, but the Bobcats had to have an entry.

The orange and blue looks good, and the line under the word "Charlotte" is a nice touch. I'm a fan.

21. New Jersey Nets

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The red, white and blue of this jersey give it a nice American feel, even though the jersey bears the name of Drazen Petrovic on the back in this picture.

I like the "ets" part of "Nets," but the "N" reminds me a bit too much of the New Jersey Devils' jersey. This one is good, but it's not quite good enough.

20. Milwaukee Bucks

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It's Christmas every day when the Milwaukee Bucks don these classic uniforms.

The jerseys are nice and classy, but there just isn't anything special about them.

19. Los Angeles Clippers

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I like the cursive font that spells out the city as well as the patriotic color scheme, but these jerseys are still pretty plain.

Plus, I would've liked to see a different color trimming than the white around the neck and sleeves.

18. Toronto Raptors

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These look cool, but how intimidating is a cartoon velociraptor?

A real one would be a different story.

17. Sacramento Kings

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I do really like the color scheme of these old-school Sacramento Kings jerseys, especially the gold as the base color with the purple numbering.

The lack of symmetry on the sleeves is pretty striking as well, with the purple and gray providing a nice contrast on one side of the body.

16. Philadelphia 76ers

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A classic jersey made famous by many Philadelphia 76ers greats, this uniform is simple, clean and orderly. The color scheme works and the abbreviation of the city name to just "Phila" is a cool touch.

My only problem with these jerseys is that they're almost too simple to move up any higher.

15. Oklahoma City Thunder

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I know that people are going to complain that this isn't a throwback for the Oklahoma City Thunder because the two teams should be kept separate, but the Thunder and the Seattle SuperSonics technically are part of the same franchise's history.

And really, what else am I going to choose for this team?

The green, yellow and white is a classic look that any NBA fan will associate with Gary Payton and the SuperSonics of old.

14. Memphis Grizzlies

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I love so many things about this jersey. The teal coloring is a great, unique look. The trim around the neck and sleeves looks fantastic.

And most importantly, the bold lettering of "Grizzlies" with the first and last letter made bigger and fairly symmetrical is an impressive touch.

Only the lack of history with this jersey keeps it from rising any higher.

13. San Antonio Spurs

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This is one of those jerseys that only has a few subtle differences from the current jersey for the organization. The biggest and most harmful difference on this one is the lack of an actual spur on the front of the uniform.

But that said, the black and gray still looks classy and neat here.

12. New York Knicks

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I've always been a huge fan of these jerseys.

The orange and blue color scheme is absolutely fantastic, and the lettering looks good too.

In fact, this one is remarkably similar to the next jersey you'll see.

11. Cleveland Cavaliers

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Everything I said about the New York throwbacks applies here, but these ones are even better for three reasons.

1. The lighter shade of blue looks better with the orange.

2. The word "Cavs" looks cooler than "New York" on the front.

3. The basketball scoring on the "V" looks terrific.

10. Denver Nuggets

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These jerseys are more endearing than good-looking.

I have no idea how Alex English managed to make a uniform that prominently featured pixelated mountains and a rainbow right across the chest region.

They're kind of ugly, but they're classics.

9. Phoenix Suns

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How can you not like these jerseys?

The ball streaking across and leaving a colorful trail in between the name and the number is just a fantastic look. The color scheme works quite well, too.

These Phoenix uniforms will always be considered great.

8. Atlanta Hawks

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These Atlanta Hawks classics look better on players than they do by themselves, but the layout is still very cool.

The yellow and red color scheme is a classic that will always remind people of the Atlanta-based franchise. The check-shaped white stripe is also a nice touch.

7. Washington Wizards

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Words cannot do these uniforms justice.

Just stare at the picture until you've seen enough and then move on.

6. Boston Celtics

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Celtic green is a color that will forever be associated with the Boston franchise.

These jerseys are absolute classics even if they aren't the flashiest ones you've seen (or will see) in this slideshow.

With plain, simple white letters and numbers and only two colors visible, simplicity equals greatness here.

5. Los Angeles Lakers

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For all the same reasons that the Boston jerseys are great, so too are the Los Angeles ones.

Purple and gold is synonymous with Lakers because of the historical significance of these jerseys. But Los Angeles jumps ahead of Boston because purple and gold is just better looking than green and white.

The lettering is also a little bit more stylish, especially the purple part of the blocked numbers.

4. Orlando Magic

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The black, white and blue coloring is absolutely fantastic, but that's not what these jerseys are about.

White pinstripes absolutely make this jersey.

There are no ifs, ands or buts about it.

3. Utah Jazz

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This may be a bit of a strange choice to some, but these jerseys have always been some of my favorite ones of all time.

The color scheme is great even though the jerseys have a white background. But the colors inside the word "Jazz" are truly incredible as they fade from purple at the bottom to a lighter blue at the top.

Then there's the mountain pattern that will forever be associated with Karl Malone, John Stockton and the rest of the Utah greats.