The Golden State Warriors became the latest team in professional sports to add a uniform change, introducing new jerseys with sleeves that will be worn at three home games over the rest of the season.
According to the Associated Press the Warriors unveiled the NBA's "first modern short-sleeve jersey" on Monday and said that the team will wear the jerseys for the first time San Antonio Spurs on Feb. 22. The team will wear the new jerseys, which are yellow on yellow, against Houston in early March and in Chicago on March 15th against the Bulls.
The jerseys have a retro look and are colored in the bright gold yellow that is part of the Warriors' color scheme. The jersey and the shorts have a white line down the side and featured the Warriors logo and the player number in the center on the front.
According to the Associated Press, the new alternates were made by Adidas and have a special fabric and design that will help with ventilation and movement for players as they are competing on the court. It includes recycled materials and has a "ClimaCool ventilation system" that allows more room for players to breathe.
From the report: The jerseys will feature "the first-ever super lightweight stretch woven short with maximum ventilation for player comfort. The jersey includes armhole insets with 360-degree stretch fabric that facilitates free range of motion for the arms and shoulders."
The company is planning to create jerseys for other NBA teams in the future. The president and chief operating officer at Adidas is Rick Welts, who was a former league executive. He had previously tried to bring a short style jersey to the NBA in the past, but it never materialized. Now that idea is a reality.
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"For me and for the organization, we're trying to set a really different path for the Warriors," said Welts to USA Today. "Going forward, we see ourselves at the edge of innovation and hopefully performance. We're really excited about it."
Adidas met with the team over a period of 18 months and worked on the design. The team isn't doing a complete overhaul, but instead is introducing a new alternate. The team went from a diagonal logo with Warriors across the jersey to a retro logo with the skyline of the Bay Area a few years ago as "old school" logos rose in popularity.
Many sports teams use rebranding, logo designs and jersey changes as ways to build excitement in the community as well as to mark new directions for the franchise.