Although the last NBA season concluded on Oct. 11 with the Lebron-led Lakers taking home their franchise’s 17th NBA title in the bubble, the league is preparing to start the next season as pre-season play has already begun. Every new NBA season obviously comes with its new storylines: new rookies, old players in new places, and new jerseys. New jerseys are the most crucial part of a team’s success, and are absolutely necessary to have any sort of hope of taking home a championship. Nonetheless, here are some of the best and worst of this year’s special city jerseys. 

Best: Charlotte Hornets: A team that normally brings in good city jerseys, the Hornets made arguably their best city jersey to date with their mint-gold color scheme. The special colors represent Charlotte being the nation’s first Branch Mint and the Carolina Gold Rush of the early 1800s. First round draft pick and old meme Lamelo Ball will be rocking the “Buzz City” jerseys as he tries to turn the Hornets out of being the least relevant franchise ever.

Worst: Boston Celtics: Hard to see from one of the greatest franchises in NBA history, but these are among the blandest jerseys to have ever been made. The Celtics wanted to pay homage to their 17 championship banners, however literally pasting the “Boston Celtics” with a white background makes for a boring and ugly jersey. Hopefully their young talent and good depth can make up for these atrocities. 

Best: Memphis Grizzlies” Another team in rebuild mode, the Grizzlies released some absolute heat this year to accompany their young stars. The “Soul City Edition” celebrates the life of Memphis native and famous soul singer Isaac Hayes. The text font is inspired by the Stax record label, and the “MG” pattern on the side of the jerseys draws influence from African Kente cloth and Hayes’ fashion flare and actions for activism. Although the Grizzlies will probably not be far from last place anytime soon, some fire city jerseys are the best way to swing the team in the right direction.

Worst: Washington Wizards” These closely rival the Celtics’ threads for the most boring jerseys released this year. The only thing special about these are the American flag streaming down the side, but other than that the same color scheme on a bland grey background with their weird alternate hand logo just. Not even NBA-fashion icon Russell Westbrook could make these jerseys pop.  

Best: Miami Heat: The Miami Heat continually do not miss when it comes to making hit jerseys, and this year is no different. But this year, for the squads city jerseys, the franchise hits a fashion bullseye. The blue and pink Miami-Vice color scheme is arguably the most iconic in the league and always makes for a good jersey. Although their city jerseys this year look like a cup of Trix yogurt, they still get clout for their history of flashy threads.

Worst: New Orleans Pelicans: If someone were to show this reporter these jerseys from far away without saying they were for the New Orleans Pelicans, I would have guessed they were from the Euro-league or somewhere else. The jerseys take after the city’s French heritage, featuring the spades and color scheme of the old French flag from the 1800’s. However taking the flag route is pretty lame, and having no front text except for some tiny writing in the bottom right corner is just strange. Luckily, the nation only pays attention to the Pelicans for Zion Williamson, so this probably will not affect anything.

Enjoy the new season, NBA fans — and enjoy those fie city jerseys!