A Dozen Uni Watch Observations About the NBA Finals
Paul has some thoughts after watching Games 1 and 2.
I haven’t watched much pro basketball in recent years. Sure, I’ve seen snippets of games that were being shown at bars where I happened to be hanging out, and maybe a quarter here or a half there. But Game 1 of the current NBA Finals, which took place last Wednesday, was the first NBA game I’ve watched from start to finish since before the pandemic. When I watched Game 2 two nights later, that marked the first time I’d watched two complete NBA games in the same week since, I’m guessing, the Patrick Ewing era.
All of which is to say, the first two games of this series have been given me an interesting crash course in the current state of NBA aesthetics. Here are 12 observations:
1) Both teams have very solid primary uniforms, making this a good-looking series.
2) That said, the Knicks’ current “New York” chest lettering is sooooo much less satisfying than its predecessor. It feels like the vertical arching doesn’t quite have the courage of its convictions, and more space is needed between “New” and “York,” all of which makes the current design look like a bootleg knockoff.
3) This appears to be a pretty good moment for NBA jersey fit, shorts fit, and shorts length. All the tailoring seems reasonable — nothing’s too tight, too loose, too long, or too short.
4) The “USA 250” jersey patch — a much smaller version of the one worn by the Seahawks and Patriots in the most recent Super Bowl — is innocuous enough, although it does look a bit odd when juxtaposed with the Knicks’ jersey ad promoting travel to Abu Dhabi.
5) That last tweet shows the “USA 250” patch on the jersey of Knicks guard Jalen Brunson early in Game 2. But the patch was missing from his jersey later in the game, and at least three other Knicks were also missing the patch at various points of Game 2: Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The patches are designed to be removed as part of a merch gimmick; it’s not clear whether the Knicks players’ patches fell off, or if the players removed them, or if the players switched to patch-free jerseys during the game.
6) As you all know, I’m no fan of jersey ads. The ones on the players’ jerseys are bad enough, but what really gets me are the ads on the refs’ jerseys, which make the officials look like they’re working in some backwater minor league. The ad on the back is particularly bad.
7) I noticed that Victor Wembanyama was wearing a plain tank top during the pregame huddle just prior to the start of Games 1 and 2. In both instances, he then pulled on his Spurs jersey as he walked onto the court for the opening tip-off. I tried to find out if this is a standard thing for him but came up empty. Anyone know more?
8) It’s crazy to think that I once wrote an ESPN column on how Kobe Bryant and a few other NBAers had begun wearing tights, which at the time seemed like a crazy development. That piece was published on Dec. 12, 2005; 20 years later, nearly all the players wear tights.
9) I know some old-schoolers probably miss the days of coaches wearing suits, but I’m fine with the current protocol of having them dress more casually (which was originally an accommodation for the pandemic and then ended up sticking).
10) In a related item, I feel like TV broadcasts used to routinely show the coaches prowling the sideline while yelling, pleading, pointing, wincing, and so on. But it seems to me that Knicks coach Mike Brown and Spurs coach Mitch Johnson have gotten very little screen time during these first two games (which is fine by me). Am I imagining things, or has this aspect of the broadcast changed?
11) This has probably been going on for ages without my realizing it, but I find it odd that games are being shown on ABC, and there’s an ABC logo at the top-right corner of the screen, but the scorebug and the reporters’ mic flags have ESPN logos:
I realize that ABC and ESPN are both owned by Disney, so they’re essentially the same company, but the logo inconsistency still seems weird to me. Like, if you’re showing the game on ABC, use ABC logos!
12) Just like everyone else, I love the sight of a nun in uniform.
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That’s what I’ve noticed so far. Looking forward to Game 3 tonight. Go Knicks!