The NBA jersey advent calendar: 25 days of hoops history for the holidays

9. Dan Majerle — 1995 NBA All-Star Game

This choice is a perfect-storm combination of novelty jersey, unique look, a time capsule of a specific era, and a spot-on player (with a funny name) to represent it all.

Dan Majerle was a three-time NBA All-Star whose prime just so happened to coincide with a two-year stretch where the league rolled out unique All-Star uniforms tailored to the host city. The experiment didn’t last but left us with the memories of jerseys adorned with brightly colored cacti and hot peppers from the games in Phoenix and San Antonio.

Majerle earns bonus consideration for being a member of the Phoenix Suns at the time of the game and rocking the custom look in front of his hometown crowd.

The uniforms show off the purple and orange of the hometown Suns and throw in some teal trim because it was the mid-1990s after all. The jerseys and shorts both feature a fantastic pattern on the side that really brings together the Southwestern aesthetics of it all.

This look is really the “opening credits to Saved by the Bell” of NBA fashion.

Bringing back the city-specific looks for All-Star weekend would be a great way to inject some originality and excitement into the mid-season festival. The NBA could partner up with local artists and designers to create unique looks each year (which would, of course, give them even more opportunities to create revenue with brand new merchandise around the All-Star game).

Everybody wins!

Honorable Mention: Michael Jordan (1992 USA Olympic Team), Bob Pettit (St. Louis Hawks), DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers), Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs)