<
>

Images of black-and-white NBA All-Star uniforms, merchandise leaked

It looks like the difference between this season's NBA All-Star uniforms and previous All-Star designs will be as stark as black and white.

For the past 15 years the league has stuck to the traditional format of the Eastern Conference All-Stars wearing blue or blue-trimmed uniforms, and their Western Conference counterparts wearing red. But for this season's All-Star Game, which is scheduled to be played on Feb. 18 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the league has scrapped the East versus West format in favor of a draft-style system with two team captains choosing the rosters. It appears the new uniforms will feature one team in black and the other in white, with all players wearing black-and-white versions of their regular team logos on their jersey chests.

Although the league has not yet officially released the All-Star designs, photos purported to be leaked images of the uniforms and associated merchandise have been circulating online for nearly two weeks. Conrad Burry of Sportslogos.net, who has a strong track record of ferreting out NBA uniform information before it's officially announced, reported on Monday that he had confirmed the leaks as legitimate.

The NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The designs represent a significant departure from previous NBA All-Star uniforms, which have never featured the players' standard team logos on the chest (although players simply wore their regular team uniforms, with no special All-Star design, from 1997 through 2002).

In addition, the leaked images indicate that the new designs feature the Jordan Brand logo rather than the Nike logo. Twenty-nine of the league's 30 teams are wearing the Nike mark this season; the lone exception is the Charlotte Hornets, who are wearing the Jordan mark as a nod to team owner Michael Jordan. At present it is unclear why the All-Star uniforms are carrying the Jordan logo, although that will presumably be explained when the designs are officially announced.

The All-Star jerseys will also be carrying a Kia advertising patch for the third consecutive year. The Kia patch, which made its All-Star debut in 2016, effectively served as a warm-up for the eventual leaguewide uniform advertising program the NBA unveiled this season. At present, 19 of the 30 teams are wearing advertising patches.