NBA 2021 earned edition jerseys, ranked

The NBA has really cornered the market on making a whole bunch of new jerseys for each team, what with releasing a statement, city, and earned jersey each year. You’d think more leagues would take a page out of their book and basically print free money. The league dropped their Earned Edition jerseys—those for teams that made the playoffs the season before—Wednesday and there were some hits and some big misses. First big miss: no Phoenix Suns earned jersey. Yes the Suns didn’t make the playoffs last year but going undefeated in the bubble should’ve warranted them a new kit.

With new jerseys being released, I figured I had to sit down and rank my favorites, so here we go. (Shoutout to @OKCTracker for the images)

16. Dallas Mavericks

When you’re not sure what makes this jersey different than their normal jerseys, that’s never a good sign.

15. Oklahoma City Thunder

Didn’t I just see this jersey? I do like the Thunder text.

14. Portland Trail Blazers

It’s the Trail Blazers jersey in black and white. Cool?

13. Boston Celtics

I’m always underwhelmed by Celtics jerseys. I get that you don’t want to stray too far from the classic look, but slapping three different color greens onto a jersey just isn’t doing it for me. In fact, I made a quick tweak which I think makes the jersey look a whole lot better.

12. Los Angeles Clippers

I would love to see a Clippers jersey that calls back to their baby blue/orange days. This just looks like a tracksuit.

11. Miami Heat

I understand maybe wanting to branch out from under the Miami Vice colors that have become so popular, but I’m not sure this is the direction to go. Think this would’ve looked a lot nicer—and more unique—replacing the black with Heat red and really steering into the fire aesthetic.

10. Indiana Pacers

Yup, I like the slanted pinstripes. The black darkens the jersey a little bit more than my liking but overall, good look.

9. Utah Jazz

Don’t hate these but damn the Jazz need to figure out what their color scheme is and stick within it.

8. Houston Rockets

Nothing super creative here but the black and red do pop.

7. Milwaukee Bucks

I give this major creativity points. Love getting the antlers involved in the body of the jersey and I’m super curious how they find with the shorts in a full uniform. Do the shorts have tan sidings to have the antlers run down the leg? We shall see.

6. Toronto Raptors

Combining the current iteration of the jersey with the classic purple jerseys of old. I don’t hate the combination, just disappointed theres no dinosaur.

5. Denver Nuggets

I like splitting the logo into two colors but maybe then don’t randomly include gold around the numbers. If they didn’t do that, this would be in contention for No. 1 overall.

4. Orlando Magic

I’m a fan of these. The front is clean and I like the star sides. They seem a little busy but maybe the sides are as thick as I’m thinking and they take up less of the jersey than it seems in this photo.

3. Philadelphia 76ers

This jersey would be perfect in my eyes if the damn numbers just fit inside the Liberty Bell. There’s nothing that peeves me more than numbers not fitting in a shape.

2. Brooklyn Nets

Love the subway look and the pattern is great. I think these will look beautiful on the court, especially if the pattern is a little more subtle in real life.

1. Los Angeles Lakers

These are beautiful and that pains me to say.

Which of the NBA’s new Earned Edition jerseys is your favorite?