Uniform History: Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are tied as the second-youngest team in the NBA, joining the League in 1995-96 with the then-Vancouver Grizzlies. The Raptors have remained in Canada, and are currently the NBA's only team based outside the USA.

The 1990s were a period of growth for the NBA, in popularity, attendance and franchises, with #28 and #29 joining the league in 1995-96. The Raptors were officially founded on November 4th, 1993. The team name was derived from the immense popularity of the Jurassic Park franchsise, with Raptors being chosen from among more than 2000 different name options in a poll involving all of Canada. This is despite the fact that no actual remains of any velociraptors have been found in the Toronto area!

The Raptors started with a bang as Damon Stoudemire won Rookie of the Year in 1995-96, after being the first draft pick in franchise history.

1995-96 SP Championship #143

1995-96 Hoops #342. Personally speaking this is one of my all-time favorite jersey designs.

The franchise's biggest star to date joined the team in 1998-99, when Vince Carter was acquired in a draft day trade, the team got new jerseys in 1999-00. The road jerseys were unique in that the front was purple but the back was black.

1999-00 Metal Vince Carter Scrapbook #5VC

2001-02 MVP #168

In 2003-04, the road purple was modified to say Raptors, instead of Toronto.

2004-05 Hardcourt #83

In 2003-04, the Raptors introduced a solid red alternate. This would become the main road jersey in 2006-07 as purple was dropped from the team color scheme.

2004-05 Topps 1st Edition #44

From 2006-07 through 2014-16, the side stripes were changed to red from the original purple on the home whites.

2013-14 Hoops #10

From 2008-09 through 2014-15, the Raptors wore the reds, above, and solid black, on the road just about equally. The black uniforms were considered alternates but were actually worn about the same amount.

2012-13 Panini Contenders #138

From 2007-08 through 2011-12, the Raptors would wear green on St. Patrick's Day.

2011-12 Hoops #226

The Raptors also had a camouflage uniform, but I don't know when or how often it was used. It appears on several cards.

2012-13 Hoops #34

 In 2015-16 the Raptors rebranded with a new logo and totally new uniforms. It is only the second logo in team history.

2015-16 Complete #119

2015-16 Complete #316

The Raptors wear the new black alternate considerably less than the black alternate of 2008-15. There is also an alternate of the alternate, with gold trim instead of red. It has not appeared on any cards yet, but it only debuted after the all-star break of this current season, so that's not all that surprising.

2015-16 Donruss #100

The 2015-16 season jerseys have a small logo on the shoulder area, clearly visible on the Ross and Carroll cards, that show the top of the CN tower, a Toronto landmark. This is the logo for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, hosted by the Raptors for the first time. This has been on the jerseys all season, and remains there into the Playoffs as the Raptors play in the Eastern Conference Finals, for the first time in team history. Presumably that will not be present on the jerseys come 2016-17.

Uniform History: New York Knicks

The New York Knickerbockers, more commonly known as the New York Knicks, are one of the NBA's three remaining original franchises, but the least successful of the three, coming up just short on multiple occasions.

The Knicks are also the only team in the NBA that is more well known by it's abbreviation, rather than it's full name.

Founded in 1946, with the creation of the BAA, the Knicks have played in an arena named Madison Square Garden for their entire history. In fact, the arena owns the team, and by proxy whoever owns the arena owns the team. The current Madison Square Garden, or MSG, opened in 1968, making it the oldest arena still in use in the NBA.

The Knicks have won two NBA Championships, in 1969-70 and 1971-72.

During the Knicks' long history, they have been stable in the uniforms worn, wearing essentially only four designs- although there are variations on most of them. The team colors have been orange and blue for the entire history of the franchise.

The earliest Knicks jersey was simply solid white with blue lettering and orange borders. I do not have any cards that show this jersey, but it does appear in the 1948 Bowman set, which you can see here. The original road jersey was solid blue with orange lettering and an orange stripe to match the home whites. To my knowledge this jersey does not appear on any cards at all.

In 1952-53 the Knicks, now part of the NBA after the 1949 merger of the BAA and NBL, kept the same font and color scheme but instead of solid orange borders, they now were blue and orange squares, on both the home and road jerseys. The Knicks have worn this design as throwbacks, beginning in 1996-97 for the NBA's 50th anniversary, and most recently in 2015-16. The main difference is that the original jerseys did not have the player's names on the back, where all Throwback versions did.
These striped uniforms would be worn from 1952-53 through 1960-61. 

1957-58 Topps #38

1957-58 Topps #29

The Knicks wore a different jersey from 1961-62 through 1967-68, again in blue and orange, which featured a blue and orange stripe under each arm hole and white text with orange outline on the road uniform. It also featured a triangular design on the pants and was the first uniform to have a logo on the pants. (NY lettering). This did not appear on any cards while being worn, and again, the road jersey does not appear on a single card known to me. It did, however, appear in the 1981 TCMA set, which will be seen many more times during the course of Uniform History, as it included color photos of many early players, and thus uniforms, that are rare to see on cards.

1981 TCMA #33, Johnny Egan. This is the only card to depict Egan as a Knick.

In 1968-69, the Knicks were on an upswing. Willis Reed, who had been drafted in 1964, was at the peak of his career, and was joined by Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley and others and powered their way to two NBA Championships. The footage of Reed limping onto the court during the 1970 finals is one of the most iconic in NBA history, still played often on Knicks broadcasts to this very day- since at least 1995-96 it's been shown at the very least once per season, usually more than once.

The Knicks debuted new jerseys in 1969-69, and the style debuted that season would come to be the iconic Knicks jersey- after a brief hiatus in the early 1980s and again in the 2000s, they are back to wearing the same basic design.

1975-76 Topps #215

Note that the blue was noticeably darker in those days.

1970-71 Topps Poster #3

In 1978-79 the Knicks added the NY letting to the leg. See below.

The 1979-80 the Knicks debuted a new jersey design that was then and remains the largest departure from the norm for the Knicks. Featuring a totally different font, darker blue and, most unusually, the team name under the number, these jerseys would be the shortest lived in Knicks history, lasting only three seasons. The design has been worn as a throwback, but with the current, lighter blue that the Knicks use.
I believe that the 1980-81 Topps team poster is the only card ever to show the home white design of this jersey in a non-throwback form.

1980-81 Topps Team Poster #11

1981-82 Topps #E89. While this is technically not a Knicks card, it shows the jersey best.

The Knicks returned to their traditional design in 1983-84, with the modification of having the jersey number be repeated on the right leg of the jersey. The number would remain on the leg until 1986-87.
With the extremely limited number of cards issued during this time, there are none known that show the home white with the number on the leg.

1983-84 Star #67

The number was removed from the leg in 1987-88. The jerseys were identical to those worn in 1978-79, with the NY logo on the leg. These were worn through 1990-91. The blue is now the lighter, medium blue that the Knicks have worn ever since.

1990-91 Fleer Update #U-63

1989-90 Hoops #6. Sorry for the poor scan.

In 1991-92, the NY lettering was replaced with the Knicks logo, and this Knicks logo would be worn only during 1991-92. Both cards shown are from 1992-93, which is interesting to note that Rolando Blackman joined the team in 1992-93, which means that this photo was taken before the new logo was prepared.

1992-93 Hoops #433

1992-93 Hoops Supreme Court #SC4

The Knicks debuted a new logo in 1992-93, which is basically the same logo shown at the very top of this post. The words "New York" were added for 1995-96, and in 2012-13 the black drop shadow was replaced with gray. The new logo replaced the old logo in the 1992-93 season, and would remain on the leg until 1996-97. The words New York were NOT added to the jersey, although they were added to the logo.

1993-94 Upper Deck #392

1994-95 Hoops #353

The Knicks debuted the new, black stripe design as an alternate jersey in 1995-96, and would wear it as an alternate in 1996-97 as well. In 1997-98, the alternate became the new standard road jersey, and a new home design, with a wide blue stripe, would be created.

1999-00 Metal #116

1996-97 Collector's Choice #290

In 2001-02, the number and logo were eliminated from the stripes on the legs, and the side stripe width was decreased. The Knicks logo was placed into the field on the right leg.

2005-06 Topps Total #316

2002-03 Fleer Tradition #107

In 2012-13, the Knicks went back to their history, and brought out a jersey very similar to the ones they wore from 1992-93 through 1996-97. The New York writing does not have as much curve to it, and the borders around the arms no longer make a complete circle. The leg patch now does have New York, instead of just the logo.

2015-16 Panini Threads #117

2015 Sports Illustrated for Kids #507

One-offs and Specials
The Knicks have worn several one-off and special uniforms. The earliest, not counting the alternates that became standards, is a solid green jersey worn solely on St. Patrick's day. The Knicks are one of several teams to have done this- beginning in 2006-07- but they don't do it anymore. I am unsure of when they stopped, and there are no cards known to me to show the green jerseys.

The Knicks debuted an orange alternate in 2013-14, but I do not know if they still wear it. I did not see any games with them wearing it during 2015-16 but that doesn't mean I didn't miss it.

2013-14 Panini #155

 The Knicks have taken part in the NBA's Spanish language initiative on multiple occasions, and have worn the Spanish jersey in normal and sleeved form. It is the only sleeved jersey the Knicks have worn.

2014-15 Prestige Premium #44

I do not have a card showing the normal jersey, but you can see a scan of one here, on the Database.

The NBA began using special, worn only once jerseys on Christmas Day in 2012-13. The Knicks took part in the program in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15. 

2013-14 Hoops #113, showing 2012-13 Christmas jersey. The front, not shown, has New York in orange letters. The jerseys that year were essentially monochromatic.

2014-15 Prestige #159, showing 2013-14 Christmas jersey.

 There are no cards showing the Christmas jersey from the 2014-15 or 2015-16 jersey designs for any team. the 2014-15 Christmas jersey featured the player's first name in a panel on the back, and the team's alternate logo on the front over the number. They were not well received by the media or fan base and none of the 8 teams which used them, as I stated, appear on cards. The Knicks did not take part in the 2015-16 Christmas program.

Uniform History: Boston Celtics

Perhaps the most steady franchise in sports history, the Boston Celtics have worn essentially the same design for more than 80 years!

Current Logo:

History: The current Celtics franchise was founded in 1946, and is one of three remaining teams that were part of the first season of what would become the NBA, along with the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors, then located in Philadelphia. The uniforms the Celtics wear, however, are much older. The early days of basketball saw many professional leagues come and go, and also a profusion of barnstorming teams, that would travel the country playing whoever they could find to play them. (The spirit of barnstorming lives on with the Harlem Globetrotters). The first Boston Celtics, also known as the Original Celtics, were one of those barnstorming teams, first founded in 1918. Their history is quite convoluted, and I can't determine when the team folded, but it was before World War II. They wore the exact same uniforms the current Celtics did when they began. The first professional basketball card is of one of the Original Celtics, Joe Lapchik, in a multi-sport release called Sport Kings in 1933. I don't have it, so I can't show it.

The Celtics home whites have remained virtually unchanged in their entire NBA history. The construction of the jersey has changed over time, notably the width of the bands that go over the shoulder. The NBA logo has been added, then moved several times. There are far more ventilation holes than there were "back in the day", etc...but design wise...practically unchanged. The largest change, which doesn't even show on cards, is that from 2005-06 through 2013-14 there was a small shamrock over the player's name.

Actually, the largest change the home whites have ever had was having the player's last name added over the number, which occurred for both home and road jerseys for the 1972-73 season. But that's not a design change so much as a concept change.

So with all that said, you can see that the home whites are basically the same in 1957-58..

1957-58 Topps #5

as they are in 2015-16!

2015-16 Prestige #22

The only real change is that the Celtics word has been slightly compressed, so it does not go from armhole to armhole. 

The road greens have changed only slightly in the Celtics' long history.
Originally, they read Boston across the front in a wide arc.

2007-08 Topps Bill Russell Missing Years #BR61

The last year they said Boston was 1971-72, it was also the last year they did not carry the player's name on the back.  I'm not sure if this is an actual image or a composite- I have a suspicion they may have digitally created the background of this image. I don't have any cards issued in that time period to show the road green so I had to use this later one.

The wide Boston jerseys have been work as throwbacks several times, beginning with the 1996-97 50th Anniversary celebration.

The road greens then were modified in 1972-73 to say Celtics, and would be basically unchanged until 2013-14. Minor adjustments only- a shamrock was added to the "belt buckle" in 1999-00, and a shamrock was added over the player's name in 2005-06.

2003-04 Topps 1st Edition #14

The road green was changed back to Boston for the 2014-15 season. It also saw the shamrock over the name removed as the NBA mandated that area as the location of the NBA logoman. This card shows the shamrock "belt buckle" well.

2015-16 Complete Silver #297

The Celtics have several alternate uniforms. The first and most used has black lettering and black stripes down the side. These were used so much when I was getting back into the NBA I actually though they were the new normal for a brief time. These debuted in 2005-06 and are still in use.

2012-13 Panini #92

Another alternate has gold lettering. I really like these. They debuted in 2006-07.

2012-13 Absolute Basketball #99

They also have had sleeved alternates. The first, which I don't believe they wear anymore, were a combination of the first two alternates. This is the only card I know of to show these alternates.

2014-15 Prestige #139

Debuting in 2014-15, the sleeved jerseys are gray with white lettering. This marks the first time in the Celtics' long history that they wore any colors other than green and white.

2015-16 Complete #50

 The Celtics also have several jerseys that have not appeared on cards. The Celtics were the Nets' opponent in the 2012 Christmas Day game, which saw the Celtics wearing solid green jerseys with green lettering.  They also wore a special jersey for the opening game of the 2008-09 season, which was like the normal home whites, but had gold borders on the letters and numbers. Neither of those jerseys appear on cards to my knowledge.

Uniform History: Nets Franchise

Welcome to the first of what will eventually be a series of more than 30 posts documenting the entire Uniform History of each NBA team. All 30 current teams will get a post, and there will also be a post or posts (as needed) for defunct NBA teams and ABA teams as well. Unlike my just-concluded countdown of my top 20 favorite sets, these posts will not be done on consecutive days!

I have chosen the Nets, my favorite team and the one I am the most knowledgeable about to kick off this look at all the different jerseys worn by the teams- or at least those that appear on trading cards in my collection.

Current Logo: (All team logos shown in this series have been cropped off of the backs of 2015-16 Complete base cards)

History: Founded in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans, the team now known as the Nets was one of the charter ABA franchises, and the only one to directly challenge an NBA team for city supremacy, a rivalry that is still ongoing all these years later. The team played one year as the Americans, and there are, to my knowledge, no cards whatsoever that show any Americans players.

For the 1968-69 season, the team was rebranded as the New York Nets, after a move to Long Island, and would remain the New York Nets for the remainder of the ABA's history.

The first Nets cards would appear in the 1971-72 Topps set, but the jerseys are poorly shown at best. These jerseys worn in this set would not appear again. In fact, I have no clue what the road uniform looks like beyond what appears on the card shown.

1971-72 Topps #199

Home white

1971-72 Topps #182

Road Red

I suspect they may have looked like the second New Jersey era road jersey, only red instead of blue. I looked on YouTube but was not able to find any footage of any Nets games before 1974.

With the 1972-73 season, the Nets debuted the jerseys they would wear for the longest time in franchise history- with only minor changes these would be the primary Nets uniform up to and including 1989-90! In fact, the Home Whites did not change at all. They were worn in the ABA as the New York Nets, in the NBA as the New York Nets, and in the NBA as the New Jersey Nets!

1984-85 Star #93

The Road Blues, however, are a different story. Originally, in the ABA and the Nets' only NBA season as the New York Nets, they looked like this:

1977-78 Topps #127

(not visible: there was a white stripe with blue stars to the left of the red stripe. You can just barely see some of the white stripe on his leg. The jersey was essentially a reverse of the home uniform)

But in 1977 the Nets moved back to New Jersey, which meant the uniform had to be changed. The New York wording was replaced with "Nets" and New Jersey was added vertically in the red stripe. The Nets would wear these uniforms from 1977-78 through 1989-90. The white Home jersey has also been worn several times as a Throwback.

1989-90 Fleer #95

In 1982-83 and 1983-84 the Nets also wore what I believe may be the first alternate jerseys in NBA history. I may not be correct as both seasons were before I was born, and the photographic evidence on cards is slim- and also appears from seasons where the normal jerseys also appear. These uniforms are significantly rare to see on cards- I am aware of only one card for home and two for road jerseys. To my knowledge, there were no cards produced when these were current to show the road blue.

1984-85 Star #93

2003-04 Finite #114

For 1990-91, the Nets rebranded with a new logo and new uniforms. The team colors remained red, white and blue, and once again, the home uniform stayed the same while the road blue changed after only one year.

1996-97 Skybox Star Ruby #171

The road blues started out not as a solid blue, but with white "fading" starting at the bottom and getting progressively lighter as it goes up. Like most of the complex jersey designs in NBA history it did not last long, in fact it was used during 1990-91 only.

1991 Starting Lineup

Beginning in 1991-92, and lasting until 1996-97, the road jerseys were solid blue. The blue was also slightly, but noticeably, darker.

1995-96 Topps Gallery #106

In 1997-98 the Nets rebranded again, and would find their greatest NBA success wearing these uniforms, going all the way to the NBA finals in both 2001-02 and 2002-03. The team was then broken up and never again achieved such success.

1999-00 Impact #40

2003-04 SP Authentic #53

 Although it does not generally show on card images, the lettering on the road blue and the borders of the letters and numbers on the home jersey is not actually white- it's metallic silver. I was quite surprised to learn this when I pulled my first Nets patch card. It doesn't show as metallic on TV either, but I soon learned that multiple teams were using metallics in their jerseys.

2001-02 Fleer Platinum Name Plates

The Nets also had two versions of an alternate gray uniform, which was pretty much the same as the blue road uniform, only gray. The gray version (either) is my favorite Nets uniform.
The first version, with blue numbers, was used in 1998-99 and 1999-00.

1999-00 Ultra #9

The second version, with white lettering, was used in 2000-01 through mid 2004-05, when production issues led to the jerseys not fitting properly and choking the players.

2003-04 Upper Deck Ultimate Collection #65

Beginning in 2006-07, the Nets introduced a red alternate. This would remain the alternate through 2008-09, and then, for the Nets' final two years in New Jersey, would be the main road jersey, replacing the blue.

2011-12 Hoops #147

In 2012-13, under new ownership, the Nets moved back to New York, and rebranded themselves the Brooklyn Nets. For the first time in team history, Red, White & Blue were not the team colors, replaced by rather bland black and white.

2014-15 Hoops #63

2013-14 Panini Prizm Greem Prizm #139

The Nets have also added several alternates to the lineup- all of which are sleeved.

Beginning in 2013-14 and still in use in the current 2015-16, the main alternate is gray with blue lettering.

2014-15 Panini Excalibur #74

The second alternate, which debuted in 2014-15 and is also in use again this season, is somewhat modeled on the design worn from 1972-89. Not visible in this photo is the black stripe that runs down under the left sleeve with three large white stars on it. This is the only card (available in three versions) to show this jersey, as far as I know.

2015-16 Complete Silver #98

In addition to the standard alternates, the Nets also played on Christmas 2013, where every team wore special uniforms. These jerseys were sleeved and did not feature a number on the front- highly unusual. The basketball design behind the B was actually a metallic silver.

2013-14 Select #121

The Nets also played on Christmas 2012, the first season that all teams playing wore special jerseys. That first season did not have sleeves, and every team playing that day wore jerseys where all writing on the jersey was the same color as the jersey itself. (a concept I hated, personally). To my knowledge there are no cards that show that Nets uniform, but there is a video on YouTube that has game highlights.