The Tradition

The NBA is known to display some unique uniforms, especially in recent years. One tradition that the NBA has held since its second season in 1947 is playing games on Christmas day. With these games, the teams wear Christmas alternate uniforms. Some are a great look for the team, but some are not so great. They have done away with these fan-craved Christmas exclusives. Let’s reminisce at the top NBA Christmas alternate uniforms throughout the years.

2013 Oklahoma City Thunder Sleeved Jerseys

Yes, I’m going to start this off with the style that got a lot of hate, the sleeved jerseys. This is the first time I am including the sleeved jerseys, but it won’t be the last. So if you don’t like them, you may need to learn to like them.

Many people didn’t like this style, but they are my favorite jerseys. In fact, if I were in charge, I would probably make every team have one set of sleeved jerseys in their uniform arsenal.

The Oklahoma City logo is stylish. It looks like a masterpiece when it is blown up and put on thunder blue. I will also give an honorable mention to the Knicks‘ uniforms in 2013. It seemed to be a game that was planned around the jersey combination. These two teams’ uniform combos together were on fire.

2012 Lakers Full Color (Or Lack Thereof) Jerseys

Whiteout uniforms are universally loved in all sports. When the Lakers displayed the full white uniforms in 2012 for their Christmas uniforms, I think it made many fans happy.

The only thing that I think would make these uniforms better is a little bit of gold. That may defeat the purpose of the theme though.

Purple-outlined letters on all-white Lakers uniforms may even make it on top NBA uniforms all-time. These uniforms are worth the mention and it seems right being brought to us by an iconic team.

2013 Chicago Bulls Sleeved Jerseys

I warned you about the sleeved jerseys, did I not? The sleeves may be an issue to some, but I think the thing that makes them so sweet is the blown-up logo. The large traditional Bull logo on the red jerseys with black and white accents is a great uniform.

The Bulls’ red and black are iconic to the NBA. Putting this together with these uniforms is a great combo. Now, wear these on Christmas day? Many great things are being put together, maybe too much all at once.

2016 Boston Celtics Festive Font Jerseys

The festive font is a classic for the NBA Christmas day uniforms. I would be content with these uniforms updated from year to year on Christmas.

Boston is one of the historic organizations in the NBA. You probably think of them when you see a green basketball jersey. The number font for this uniform fits perfectly with the theme. Everything about these jerseys makes them worth a mention for one of the top Christmas uniforms in the NBA.

2015 Miami Heat Festive Font Jerseys

The Miami Heat are known for bringing the fire with their uniforms. Yes, pun intended.

Cream-colored festive font on red jerseys looks amazing. They even added the wishbone collar and stripes on the side to help these uniforms pop. There are not many color schemes that could make this style better.

What’s Your Favorite NBA Christmas Uniforms?

All the above uniforms are my favorite NBA Christmas uniforms, but which ones do you like? Maybe there are some that you disagree with. Mention in the comments below your top NBA Christmas alternate uniforms.

You can listen to me, and my cohosts talk about sports by checking out Rising To The Occasion on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. I am also on Twitter, where you can find most of my updates and articles. Check out more Belly Up Sports articles to see what we can do here!

About Author

Josh Mahler

Josh is the host of Rising To The Occasion, a sports podcast on the Belly Up Sports Podcast Network.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *