ESPN’s Paul Lukas recently did a ranking of the uniforms of all the teams of the four major pro sports leagues: the NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL.
Lukas admits his bias without hesitation, which is good because it’s a very arbitrary list. It is all about style preference and he is really just ranking clothes, which can be appealing to some and dreadful to others. For example, he ranked the uniforms of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals 121 out of 122. I have actually always rather enjoyed the tiger stripes and I would probably put the Bengals in the top 10.
Obviously he just did the list to get people talking and call him out for trolling when he ranks the uniforms of the biggest market teams or the teams with the most fans up near the top.
Looking at just the NBA teams, Lukas ranks the Boston Celtics at number one (although 10th overall, showing his disappointment with NBA uniforms). I guess we can chalk this one up to historical bias. The Celtics uniforms have been mostly unchanged for decades, but I guess that is part of the appeal.
“The Rolling Stones, ‘Goodfellas,’ a Hershey's with almonds — the classics are classic for a reason. That definitely applies to the Celtics' set. No goofy side panels, no extraneous bells or whistles — just a perfect, vertically arched wordmark and a simple green-and-white color scheme. They rank atop this list despite sometimes wearing that black-trimmed alternate.”
Hershey’s with almonds? Who likes almonds in their chocolate? Sorry, I have lost my focus.
Lukas clearly values the traditional look over anything innovative. He ranks the Spurs second and Lakers third. Down at the bottom of the list he has the Magic 27th, the Timberwolves 28th and the Kings 30th, even though I think they should get some points for being original and going with some more stylish designs.
Honestly, if I were doing the rankings, I would probably almost flip-flop his list because I find the traditional uniforms rather boring and I like the newer, cooler styles. I think the NBA could benefit from a style upgrade, like bringing in a graffiti artist to design some new uniforms or something. I am always a fan of teams like the Oregon Ducks who are constantly trying to push the envelope and try something new with their uniforms.
Of course there will always be the people who like to keep it classy and old-fashioned. Which are you?
Image: CBS Houston.
