Ranking the 5 new WNBA Rebel Edition jerseys

The WNBA and Nike just released five new Rebel Edition jerseys for the 2023 season. How do they stack up to one another – and the designs they replaced?

For the third year in a row, the WNBA has dropped new jerseys. Five teams – Dallas, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, and Washington – will be wearing new Rebel Edition threads during the 2023 season.

The Rebel Edition line has pushed the limits of jersey design in its three years. The jerseys have consistently represented each team’s home city and been some of the most unique jerseys in all of sports. Each season has had a theme. This year’s is “Trace the Lineage,” a nod to each team’s past while simultaneously inspiring future women athletes.

When pushing the creative limit, though, there will be hits and misses. Here’s a look at this year’s jerseys, ranked from worst to best.

WNBA Rebel Edition Jerseys 2023: Ranking the 5 new uniforms

5. Dallas Wings

The Wings’ new design only does one thing better than the previous one: avoids controversy. The team’s first Rebel Edition design was pulled after the racist history behind its inspiration was exposed. The replacement for that one was pretty uninspired. The latest rendition doesn’t venture far from that.

The design feels more like a re-vamp of the Wings’ existing jerseys, and that makes it pretty underwhelming and somewhat boring. Turning the side stripes into the main feature? Do better, Nike. The Wings have an awesome color scheme, but have once again botched the utilization of it.

The concept behind the design is rather uncreative, as well. According to the team release, the stripes highlight the “strength, speed, and unity that comes with being a part of the Dallas Wings organization and the team’s growing legacy.” The Volt Green is supposed to represent the “energy and excitement created by Wings players and the impact they have on the next generation of athletes on and off the court.” Sure.

The front font is pretty basic, and the white/green horizontal split does not look good. It looks even worse on the back jersey numbers.

Boring concept leads to boring execution.

4. Indiana Fever

Holy fall off. Indiana’s previous Rebel Editions were one of the coolest jerseys, ever. Drawing its inspiration from Stranger Things, which was filmed heavily in Indiana, the previous design represented the perfect crossover between sports and popular culture.

The new design brings the focus back to basketball, which is fine. It pays homage to the “Bloodline” of Indiana’s basketball history, as well as the legendary “Red-Out” crowds during the Fever’s 2012 WNBA Championship run.

The dates written in the pinstripes feature dates from significant moments in franchise and basketball history: the enactment of Title IX in 1972, the establishment of the franchise in 1999, its first eastern conference championship in 2009, its first championship in 2012, and Tamika Catchings’ Hall of Fame induction in 2020.

The design concept is fantastic, but the execution is not. It is very…red. The pinstripes – the cornerstone of the design – are a bit too subtle and may be overlooked. The font is the same one that is featured on the Fever’s Heroine and Explorer edition jerseys.

To top it all off, the jersey features two Salesforce ads on the front, which feels like overkill.

Great concept with lackluster execution.

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3. Minnesota Lynx

The Lynx had one of the better Rebel Edition designs last season. The new ones don’t quite live up to that, but are very good in their own right. The design features a classic combination of greens that has high potential, but doesn’t do anything very out of the box with it. Still, its simplicity shines.

The darker green around the neckline feels a bit heavy and overbearing in that area, but that is the lone detail that hurts the design. The bright green side stripes have “change starts with us” written in them, which fits team and league history very well. The understated texture in the black portion of the uniform is a great, subtle touch.

The fonts are the star of this show, though. The bright green “Minnesota” fits comfortably alongside the larger “LYNX.” The white lettering features a split-colored outline featuring both shades of green, which adds an element of pop to the jersey, and the sharp font is a Lynx staple. Minnesota also put their sponsor tag on the back, below the back jersey number, which not only helps keep the front clean, but also limits how distracting the tags can be.

The team hasn’t released the inspiration behind the new design, which holds it back a little bit. These may move up a spot after that information comes out.

A good design that should look good on-court.

2. New York Liberty

The Liberty have the most unique jersey color in sports in their seafoam. They have not been shy about utilizing it and flexing their creative muscle.

https://twitter.com/nyliberty/status/1641803059595472897?s=46&t=vRQq97DPupWTyKfX8-jatA

The team brought back their “EQUALITY” front lettering and fonts but overhauled everything else. The most noticeable detail is the speckled gradient, which is inspired by streetball in NYC and its undeniable role in growing the game. It is very cool to see a women’s team tap into that. The back numbers are outlined in white and seafoam, giving them a bit of a glow about them that complements the gradient well.

The white striping around the neck and shoulders is a subtle yet necessary touch that complements the overall design. The HSS and Webull ads on the top don’t take away from the main design, either.

If this ranking was simply focused on shorts, the Liberty would be far and away in first place. The logo is an NYL monogram that is a nod to some All-Women teams that used a similar design. The back of the leg features a flame, which is just prominent enough to display its importance without taking away from the overall design or feeling out of place.

The belt area features the Liberty’s primary logo, a subtle, simple touch to break the lull of the mid-section of the design.

Another incredibly creative look for the Liberty, whose rotation is still the strongest in the WNBA.

1. Washington Mystics

The Mystics continue their strong run of jersey designs, tapping in to more DC history with their new look. The design centers around Nannie Helen Burroughs, who founded the National Training School for Women and Girls in 1908. It was the first school in the nation to provide vocational training to Black women. The school was renamed in her honor in 1964, and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1991.

The design encapsulates one of Burroughs’ most famous quotes: “To struggle and battle and overcome and absolutely defeat every force designed against us is the only way to achieve.” The words “struggle, battle, overcome” are written throughout the wave pattern on the uniform. There is a heart directly under the neckline which pays homage to the necklace Burroughs wore.

The fonts are classic, and a nod to font styles from the early 1900s. The back of each shoulder features a design inspired by the architecture of the NTSWG. The belt of the shorts features the expression “think loudly, think boldly,” which is inspired by Burroughs’ words.

The shorts also feature Washington’s “DC” logo in gold, with a gold and white stripe around the edges of them.

The Mystics somehow managed to match their previous Rebel Edition design, which was one of the best.

A truly elite design with an incredible meaning behind it.