Seeing as the Pacers are entering into a new era with a new look and a new leader, we thought it would be appropriate to see how the new jerseys stack up throughout Pacers history.
This season of Pacers basketball could prove to be pretty long and mundane, and it will most likely include more losses than we’re comfortable with. Knowing that, it’s comforting to know that the team got a win earlier this month with the unveiling of their new jerseys.
The uniforms went over quite well all things considered (so well, in fact, that Lance Stephenson is even considering buying his own), especially since most other teams stayed very close to previous designs. The Pacers went bold and succeeded, much more so than some other teams that tried something new (looking at you Timberwolves).
Indiana has a long history of dope jerseys, so I thought it was high time to determine the definitive jersey power rankings, including the newest addition to the collection.
Who will reign supreme? The oft-celebrated Flo-Jos? The pinstripes that saw the Pacers only NBA Finals appearance? The ones from the late 80s that look like they were designed by a blind second grader? You’ll have to read on to find out (it’s not the late 80s ones).
Number seven: 1985-1990
Not sure what they were thinking here. By they, I don’t mean Stuart Gray, who is pictured here in this badly aligned photo and played for the Pacers for five seasons. That man was born in the heart of the Panama Canal. He knew exactly what he was doing, and still does.
More from Pacers News
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
By they, I mean the designers of this jersey, worn by Pacers for roughly six years before it was mercifully put to rest. Where do I even begin? The shade of blue that they went with seems like the perfect shade of blue to look really gross when sweaty. I don’t know how to measure that, but I’m right.
Horizontal stripes across the jersey almost never look good (looking at you Timberwolves). They make everything look wide and boxy, when NBA athletes are often anything but.
The weird font across the gross horizontal stripe is a whole new beast as well. What was the idea here? Why put some weird kind-of-a-streak-looking-thing-but-mostly-just-an-eyesore break in all the letters? Why not put one in the C if all the other letters were going to have one? It’s such a distraction.
Throw in a weirdly high neckline, and this thing is just a disaster. No, I’m not being too dramatic. No, YOU need to stop being so weirdly attached to things.
Number six: 1981-1984
I don’t have nearly as many problems with this jersey as I did with the previous one, but I won’t go as far as to say that it’s good. It just looks kind of unfinished.
Granted, these are from a long time ago, and I’m sure whoever designed/produced them wasn’t pouring as much money into them as Nike did with the current getup, but we can do better than this right?
It doesn’t even look like the numbers are straight, and it’s not just this poorly aligned picture. I scoured and scoured trying to find one that looked less crooked. They’re all like this.
The trim along the neckline and sleeves is almost too small to be doing anything at all, and the font is weird in a way I can’t quite describe. It’s almost like it belongs on the front of an Indiana tourism brochure, not a basketball jersey.
Still, the jersey is simple, and you can’t screw up too much with simple. The gold is a nice enough shade, and the blue alternate version looks good as well. Other than looking a lot like a practice jersey, this uniform is passable enough to not be last. Some days, that’s about all we can hope for.
Number five: 2005-2017
We’ve arrived at the distinctly average section of the power rankings. These jerseys hold the longest tenure in the history of the franchise, and I guess that’s ok. That’s the essence of these jerseys: they’re not really hurting anybody.
More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
The color scheme is solid, with the gold a smidge brighter than the pinstripes but still darker than the equivalent we have now. The “INDIANA” across the chest is a nice size and a nice font, and it brings a classic feel to the whole look.
The numbers are a little bit weird, especially when there are two digits involved, but that’s certainly not a mortal sin. The stripes down the side panels are the best feature of the jersey if you ask me. We don’t see stripes like that in any other iteration of Pacers uniforms, but I think they up the slickness factor significantly.
The neckline drags this one down in the rankings. I just don’t understand what the extra thing at the bottom is all about. It looks like all the players are wearing some weird gold medal, and the gray trim doesn’t work at all. It’s part futuristic-looking in a bad way and part “we forgot to put another color here.”
Overall, a resounding “ehh” for this one.
Bonus: Hickory alternate uniforms
It felt a little unfair to have these in the running for the power rankings, but they’re too dope to ignore completely.
Let’s start with the color scheme. This red is intoxicatingly nice, and you won’t find it anywhere else in the NBA. The gold lettering and shorts make for a perfect combination. They’re flashy without being bawdy or obnoxious, classic without seeming boring or antiquated. They’re the perfect throwback.
I’m not entirely sure why, but I will always picture blonde George Hill wearing the Hickory jerseys whenever I think about them. I’m not complaining — there’s no bad reason to think about blonde George Hill — it’s just curious.
Number four: 1990-1997 (the “Flo-Jos”)
I might take some heat for this one, but I have to be true to myself. Blasphemy aside, I’m just not in love with the Flo-Jos.
More from Pacers News
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
For those who aren’t aware, the Flo-Jo jerseys are named after their designer, track and field star Florence Griffith Joyner. Joyner is widely considered to be the fastest woman of all time, and her record in the 100m dash has been unbroken since 1988. Off the track, she designed these lovely jerseys, and you can definitely see how the design was influenced by track uniforms.
The jerseys are very sleek. That much is undeniable. Having the number off center on the right side is a cool idea, especially in concert with the large splash of yellow and white that takes up the entire left side panel and spills onto the shorts.
The specific shades of blue and yellow work well together, the pointed neckline helps with the sleek vibe, and the jersey as a whole has firmly positioned itself as a fan favorite.
Having said all that, I just think there’s a low ceiling for unsymmetrical jerseys. There’s just something about them that rubs me the wrong way, almost like they’re trying too hard to be different. The white shadowing on the letters doesn’t help things either. It screams “Microsoft Paint” and makes the whole jersey seem really dated.
Number three: 2017-present
I’m willing to admit that there might be a bit of recency bias at play with this pick, but only a bit. Nike knocked it out of the park with these jerseys. The white uniforms specifically are one of my favorite NBA jerseys period.
These are the perfect balance between vintage and modern. The circular words around the number seems like an old school idea, but that’s countered expertly with a new-age font that’s different without being too different.
That’s the central thing about these jerseys that makes them such a success: the idea of doing something new without trying to do too much or going off the deep end. Nike didn’t just toss out a boring retread of the old jerseys, but they also focused on simplicity where they could. That’s crucial.
The stripes down the side panel are a nice touch that matches the new court design, but they also kept the side panels pretty narrow so as not to distract from the central circle. Looking from straight on, you can barely tell they’re there, making the jersey seem almost minimalist.
Finally, the secondary Indiana logo is small enough on the shorts that no one will have to look at it much at all. Thank goodness.
Number two: 1976-1981
They definitely got it right the first time. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with keeping things simple, so even though I’m sure there weren’t months of meetings and mock-ups that went into this jersey, it still takes the number two spot in our rankings.
More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds
- 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
- Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
- 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
- 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
- Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?
Tell me one bad thing about this jersey. I’ll wait. There are a million different ways to screw up a jersey, and it’s really hard to avoid all of them, but this one manages it. The color scheme just is awesome. If the Hickory jerseys didn’t exist, I would cape so hard to make these the main throwbacks.
I like how the shoulder straps are pretty thin, and I wish more jerseys would adopt that style. I’m guessing more recent uniforms have steered away from stuff like that because they’re more focused on selling jerseys to normal people who don’t have shoulders like Dwight Howard, but they just don’t look as cool.
Topping it all off, the INDIANA font is classic and unobtrusive, and the whole look is as close to perfect as anyone could hope for. However, only one jersey can reign supreme.
Number one: 1997-2005 (the pinstripes)
I feel like any detailed explanation will just end up being a disservice to the GOAT, so I will just say: the pinstripes are untouchable. Anyone who says otherwise will have me to answer to.
Next: Imagining a dream roster around Myles Turner
Did I do a good job with these rankings or screw them up worse than you could have ever imagined? Let me know in the comments.