Ranking the NBA City Edition jerseys for 2021-22 from worst to best

The 2021-22 NBA City Edition jerseys dropped on Monday and we’re ranking all 30 teams’ newest uniforms from best to worst.

Uniform buffs, unite! On Monday, the NBA and Nike unleashed the 2021-22 City Edition jerseys for all 30 teams — well, most of the 30 teams. The Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz elected to use their jerseys from last year’s City Edition series instead of branding new ones for this season.

The theme for this year’s jerseys was “Mixtape” to blend together the different eras of every franchise into one uniform, which is a terrific concept.

You can take a look at the full collection for the 2021-22 NBA season below.

But what fun is having a new batch of NBA City Edition jerseys if we’re not going to critique them? So here we are, ranking all 30 from worst to best.

NBA City Edition jerseys, ranked for 2021-22

30. Miami Heat

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1455178451720228876

Who thought putting a ransom note on a jersey was a good idea? Plus, nothing is ever going to top the Heat’s Vice jerseys — especially these.

29. Oklahoma City Thunder

https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1455176540476608525

If you’ve ever been shopping for paint and not understood the difference between “Ivory” and “Snowfall”, then you kind of understand what these jerseys look like.

28. New Orleans Pelicans

https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA/status/1455201490205827073

Honestly, this isn’t a bad-looking uniform and the shoutout to “NOLA” is pretty cool, but it’s just too similar to the normal Pelicans jerseys.

27. Boston Celtics

Speaking of not having much of a difference, there’s an 83 percent chance I would think this was a normal Celtics jersey if I saw someone wearing one on the street.

26. Orlando Magic

https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1455176580301471744

Of all of the great history of Orlando Magic uniforms, someone really thought it was a good idea to have a traffic cone be the inspiration for this jersey.

25. Golden State Warriors

This ranking is probably a tad too harsh as, ostensibly, this is a clean look for the Warriors. However, it’s another case where the logo makes it come too close to the everyday look.

24. Portland Trail Blazers

In case you haven’t guessed this, we were really looking for something different (though reasonable) and the Trail Blazers did not understand that.

23. Los Angeles Lakers

There was clearly some thought put into the Lakers’ jerseys with the touch of baby blue combined with the purple, but that doesn’t make it look any better.

22. Chicago Bulls

Much like the Lakers, the Bulls are clearly paying homage to the early-Jordan-era teams with the scripted font. Unfortunately, they would’ve been better off just bringing those back.

21. Sacramento Kings

https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1455192840955260932

Because I’m a fan of the Kings’ normal jerseys, this one gets a slight bump above others that aren’t a big change from the norm, but it’s still not cracking the top 20.

20. Indiana Pacers

https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1455207768059699205

We’re back to paying homage to classic uniforms and doing it much worse than the old-school jerseys with the Pacers. Seriously, a copy+paste of the ’90s look would’ve sufficed.

19. Memphis Grizzlies

https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1455186406737944577

The details on the waistband and margins of the Grizzlies’ City Edition jerseys make it more of a winner than others, though some teal to throw it back to Vancouver would’ve been a nice touch.

18. Cleveland Cavaliers

Initially, the Cavs were much higher in the rankings because I love the big-time throwback logo on these jerseys. But then someone called them “too high school” and now I can’t unsee that.

17. Los Angeles Clippers

You could make the argument that these are the simplest of the City Edition jerseys but it’s a pretty clean look for the Clippers.

16. Phoenix Suns

We’ve already see “The Valley” jerseys for the Suns, so that knocks them down a bit in the rankings. Had that not been the case, though, these are an easy top-10 inclusion.

15. Utah Jazz

The same points made for the Suns also apply to the Jazz. This is a good look but it’s a shame that it’s not a new one.

14. New York Knicks

https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1455181584328318979

Outside of the primary color, there’s not a whole lot different about the Knicks new jerseys from their regular look. But that change is a big one as the darker blue really allows the accents to pop beautifully.

13. Detroit Pistons

https://twitter.com/DetroitPistons/status/1455194192226004996

We’re reaching the point where I had to nitpick because I really liked all of these jerseys. The Pistons going with the bold red as the primary color is amazing but the overall lack of details in comparison forces these threads to No. 13.

12. Houston Rockets

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/1455183786094829574

Some people weren’t too keen on the Rockets City Edition jerseys and those people are out of their minds. This is how you update a classic throwback properly.

11. Philadelphia 76ers

And staying on the theme of throwbacks, the Sixers are going to be looking nice in these. That old-school font is absolute perfection, as is the dark blue primary color.

10. Toronto Raptors

Setting aside the fact that the Drake tie-in with the colorway is a tad annoying (to me, at least), the classic Raptors logo makes this jersey an absolute hit for Toronto.

9. Minnesota Timberwolves

I give these jerseys five flame emojis. Seriously, Minnesota crushed it with this look as the shade of blue mixed with the green accents really makes these jerseys pop.

8. Milwaukee Bucks

All of these teams hyped up their jerseys talking about the details and that’s what stands out with the Bucks’. The striping on the torso is fantastic, as is mixing up the secondary color a bit from the norm.

7. San Antonio Spurs

https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1455173073007792134

The fiesta look is something that the Spurs should lean into at every possible opportunity, so they’re getting major props for doing so here.

6. Denver Nuggets

If the font wasn’t just a tad off-putting, this could’ve been a top-three candidate for the NBA City Edition jerseys. Even still, this is a great overall look for the Nuggets.

5. Dallas Mavericks

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1455179699538337808

Perhaps this is a personal bias because of how much I love the Mavs’ throwbacks but I don’t care. It’s one of the best looks in NBA history and I’ll be happy to see it largely brought back with these jerseys.

4. Washington Wizards

https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/1455188280488628231

Some are calling the Wizards’ City Edition jerseys the best of all 30 teams. I’m not there but the clear homage to the history of the franchise definitely makes Washington a winner.

3. Atlanta Hawks

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1455179078256955399

On some level, the giant Hawks logo in these throwback-inspired jerseys is a little goofy — but it’s also undeniably eye-popping and charming to any long-time NBA fan.

2. Charlotte Hornets

https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1455255974227349506

In all honesty, it would be hard to mess up a Hornets uniform if they put time into it, which they clearly did with these. The honeycombed top of the jerseys is absolutely incredible.

1. Brooklyn Nets

https://twitter.com/BrooklynNets/status/1455204377057181698

To put it as plainly as possible, ditch the black and white and make these the Nets’ permanent jerseys.