Paul Lukas of Uni Watch is about as well-connected a blogger can get. And his sources tell him the Magic are changing their uniforms next season:
A little birdie tells me that the following NBA teams will have new home and road uniforms next season: the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Magic, Kings, and Hornets, plus the Bucks will be getting a new alternate design
Great scoop, Paul. But it's a terrible idea.
I'm a big believer in the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" axiom. And the Magic's current uniform ain't broke:
Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Keith Bogans, and Jameer Nelson in the Orlando Magic's current white home uniforms.
Photo by Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images
Classy. Conservative. Emblematic of the team's attitude. My love for the pinstriped uniforms of yesteryear has more to do with nostalgia than with actual aesthetic value; the typeface was obnoxious and called attention to itself, and the pinstripe motif was the uniform's only redeeming feature. To be honest, it was immature:
Penny Hardaway in the Magic's pinstriped white home uniforms of yesteryear.
File photo by Chris O'Meara, the Associated Press
All that said, this news shouldn't really surprise anyone. Next season marks our 20th anniversary in the league, and we have a habit of changing uniform designs in anniversary years: we went from pinstripes to dazzle fabric in 1998, and from dazzle fabric to the current block typeface in 2003. The whole thing smacks of greed -- Are you ready to break the bank for new jerseys and t-shirts? -- and I don't like it one bit.
And some questions to prompt discussion:
- Which Magic uniform is your favorite? Why?
- Do you approve of the Magic's rumored decision to change uniforms once again? Why or why not?
- What current, non-Magic NBA uniform is your favorite? Why?
- The Magic haven't had an alternate uniform -- one to wear on holidays or on nationally televised road games, for instance -- since the pinstriped era. Should they try to add one to their new wardrobe after the mandated two-year waiting period?
I have some answers in mind, but I'd like to hear from you first. So let's talk. And enjoy your weekend.
Huge hat-tip to MME, who runs Bold 'n' Blue, for bringing this tidbit to the attention of all the MagicMadness posters.