Ranking and analyzing all 30 NBA City edition uniforms
24. Toronto Raptors
Nike did a solid job on the Raptors’ first three editions. Toronto’s straightforward red and black color scheme does not have to be overdone to work well on court, and for once the sports apparel company was successful in striking a balance between necessary simplicity and the originality that makes a uniform great.
After using the standard white home, red road and black alternate format (although those are very interchangeable) for their first three jerseys, Nike decided to go garish and take a shot with the City edition. It did not work.
They went with a black and Vegas gold color scheme — something they have been inclined to use in recent years — and attempted to pull off the shape you see above on the front. Not only does that not work at all, they wrote NORTH in awkward letting across it, pushing a cringey marketing campaign to the forefront.
Two things on the use of “north”: Geographically, Toronto is not the northernmost NBA team; Minnesota and Portland best them in that category, with Milwaukee very close behind. If they wanted to show Canadian pride or some kind of underdog mentality, why not do a red Maple Leaf jersey? The Blue Jays have done something along those lines before, and it looked great.
These are … not.