The new City Edition jersey for the Los Angeles Clippers got leaked recently, and Kyle Kuzma isn’t happy that Nike keeps releasing new ones every year.
“Nike is ruining the nostalgia of jerseys, every year it’s a new jersey and what gets lost is brand identity.”
Nike is ruining the nostalgia of jerseys, every year it’s a new jersey and what gets lost is brand identity. https://t.co/oVq40s3a5t
— kuz (@kylekuzma) October 16, 2023
Kuzma is a Puma athlete, so he doesn’t necessarily have any love for Nike anyway. It was in 2016, that the concept for City Edition jerseys was introduced by Nike and the NBA. It was announced that it would be done to honor and celebrate the culture and heritage of the cities.
Not everyone has been a fan of it, of course. Many view it as just another way to earn money for Nike. Unless you were a truly die-hard fan, you wouldn’t bother buying the traditional home and away jerseys every year, as they don’t change too much.
These City Edition ones do, and tempt you to buy them as a result. With all these alternate jerseys, you do lose a sense of nostalgia as well. The list of different kinds of jerseys on offer now is a fairly big one, as you have Association, Icon, City, Statement, and Classic Edition.
NBA Fans Reacted To Kyle Kuzma’s Criticism
Kuzma’s critique went viral rather instantly, as you might imagine. NBA fans largely agreed with him as well, as they reacted to his post on X.
One is happy that a player is now speaking out.
I’m glad an actual player spoke up about these jerseys. They should really get y’all’s input
— D’Courtland Christian (DC) (@DCrealspill) October 16, 2023
A fan thinks there should a few years should pass before new jerseys are launched.
You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. @Nike @nikebasketball needs to SLOW DOWN on NBA Jerseys.
Some of these designs look bargain basement.
The NBA should adopt a 5 year rule like the NFL.
*The Main Home/Road Jersey 5 years
*The City every 3 Years
*The Statement every 3 years.
— 𝗧𝗛𝗘_𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗧® (@The_NomadCast) October 16, 2023
A fan believes Nike is now running out of ideas for City Edition jerseys and is putting out things that don’t go together.
https://twitter.com/MagicFan90/status/1713935776616972430
A fan thinks this is just a money grab.
yeah they want to sell as many as possible so changing it up constantly helps that happen
— Bilal Sattar (@bilalsattar) October 16, 2023
One called them the worst jersey partner in NBA history.
Worst jersey partner in NBA history. But kids love this stuff unfortunately, so I’d imagine it’s not going anywhere.
— 3 Pound Hound (@3poundhound) October 16, 2023
While it is fashionable to pile on Nike here, they obviously wouldn’t be able to do this without the NBA agreeing to it. The league itself is probably in love with the idea, as it helps generate more money, and makes it more profitable to partner with them.
Kyle Kuzma Is Aiming To Turn Things Around For The Wizards
The Washington Wizards have been the definition of mediocrity for much of the last 40-odd years. They haven’t had a whole lot of success winning the title as the Bullets back in 1978, and have made the playoffs just once in the last five seasons. The Wizards have failed to even win a series in the last six seasons, and Kuzma is hoping to turn things around.
After signing a four-year, $102 million deal with the Wizards, Kuzma declared it was time to turn the ship around. That won’t be an easy task, however.
The 28-year-old had the best season of his career in 2022-23, averaging 21.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. The Wizards also had two other 20-point scorers in Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis but still finished with just a 35-47 record.
Beal and Porzingis have now gone, with Jordan Poole and rookie Bilal Coulibaly being the only real notable additions in my opinion. Would their fortunes change for the better considering the moves that have been made? Probably not. At best, they’ll end up challenging for the final play-in spot as they did in 2022-23, but that’s about it.
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