One of the most important aspects of any team is its jersey. Home, away, alternate, and throwback jerseys represent a team’s logo, and colors, and are a statement for the city.
These uniforms are essential to a team’s history and culture, but for every great jersey, there’s one a team would love to forget. Not every jersey can be the Teal Detroit Pistons Jersey or the 2000s Philadelphia Black Road Jersey, and these ones fans and players would rather forget about.
These are the Absolute WORST Uniforms in the History of All 30 NBA Teams:
Atlanta Hawks: 1978-82 Away Jerseys
Aesthetic-wise, these aren’t the worst jerseys in league history, but they make the list because they lack imagination. The solid red with “Atlanta” in the center just doesn’t inspire anything about the team. It’s just boring.
Boston Celtics: 2014-17 Gray Sleeves Alternate
There aren’t a lot of bad jerseys in Celtic history, as the team keeps a relatively simple approach, but their sleeved jerseys in the 2010s are objectively bad. Gray doesn’t do much for fans, and the sleeves are hideous. Players and fans rejoice that this jersey is gone.
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Brooklyn Nets: 2024 City Jerseys
What. On. Earth?? The 1990s color scheme isn’t bad, but these jerseys look like they were designed with a kaleidoscope. If the Nets want a retro pattern, steer away from this. It’s almost so bad it’s good.
Charlotte Hornets: 2004-06 Away Jerseys (Bobcats)
Orange is not a great color for jerseys, and everyone wants to forget about the Bobcats years. The mostly orange jersey with the blue trim isn’t exactly a must-grab, but it’s not missed since nobody would ever wear a Bobcat jersey.
Chicago Bulls: 2013-15 St. Patricks’ Jerseys, Sleeved
The entire list could be made strictly for the sleeved jerseys, but the Bulls St. Patrick’s Day jerseys are one of the worst. The Green isn’t an inherently bad color, actually works for jerseys, but regardless of the reason for the jerseys and the awkward sleeves, it is horrific to look at.
Cleveland Cavaliers: 1980-83 Home Jerseys
A common occurrence of bad jerseys is something too simple. The beige is an unbelievably bland color, and adding a pair of stripes to it just makes it look that much worse. The only thing worse than bad is boring, but this Cleveland jersey manages to be both.
Dallas Mavericks: 2003-2004 Alternates
These aren’t just the worst jerseys in Mavericks history, these are in contention for worst jerseys in SPORTS history. The color scheme, particularly the gray, is bad enough, but the material makes it look like the team is wearing a trash bag as a uniform. These have no place in sports unless they collect cups and popcorn bags post-game.
Denver Nuggets: 1975 (ABA)
This isn’t to pick on older jerseys, but the former Denver Rockets didn’t have a very stylistic jersey. The white letters on a blue background aren’t the worst, but it isn’t exactly something fans would run to purchase.
Detroit Pistons: 1978-81 Home and Away Jerseys
It’s not necessarily the worst design out there, but the lightning bolts and basketball do hit the eye wrong for a professional team. For a youth team, this works, but for a team and city known for grit and toughness, it doesn’t mesh with the team culture.
Golden State Warriors: 1975-83 Home Jerseys
Though Golden State is one of the largest brands in the NBA today, their jerseys have sometimes lacked. Take their 70s-era jerseys. The gold background, the gaudy circle, and the state of California is an eyesore. Keep it in the uniform graveyard.
Houston Rockets: 1982-86 Home Jerseys
No team, ever, should have a slanted name. A white background for home isn’t bad, since every team has it, but the red lettering on a slant gives the impression that the lettering is falling off. Either keep it centered, or not at all.
Indiana Pacers: 1985-89 Away Jerseys
There’s something about the bright blue that doesn’t evoke the same tough emotions as later dark blue versions. The bright yellow strip in the middle that goes through several letters isn’t something that a team would want to wear.
Los Angeles Clippers: 2002-06 Alternate Jersey
There are a number of reasons why this jersey doesn’t work. The bland, almost tunic look of the blue logo is bad, but the cursive “Los Angeles”, which is supposed to pop, makes the uniform an eyesore as opposed to unique.
Los Angeles Lakers: 2015-16 Christmas Jerseys
One of the most storied franchises in all of sports, the Lakers usually have a great jersey. Unfortunately, their Christmas jersey in 2015 is a victim of both cursive writing and an almost too-subtle purple trim and lettering. This could’ve been better.
Memphis Grizzlies: 2015-16 Hardwood Classic Jersey
Memphis has had a few great jerseys in its relatively short run, but their Hardwood Classic is not one of them. Red is a color that notoriously bleeds, and combined with the ballooning letters makes it more avant-garde than stylistic in a bad way.
Miami Heat: 2009-10 Alternate
Miami usually has a nice jersey thanks to the contrasting black and red coloring, but the nearly all-red 2009-10 Alternates were not among them. The white trim helps, but the solid red is nearly illegible. Solid colors don’t help any jersey.
Milwaukee Bucks: 1999-2001 Away
This jersey isn’t so much bad as it is underwhelming. The solid blue is a nice touch in comparison to other solids, but there’s something missing, especially for the more flamboyant early 2000s.
Minnesota Timberwolves: 2011-12 Hardwood Classics
Simple can be amazing for uniforms, but the Muskies jersey leaves too much to be desired. It has decent colors and has potential with lettering, but the overly simple look makes it fade into the background, and likely won’t find regular sales.
New Orleans Pelicans: 2003-05 Home Jerseys
The former Hornets have gone through numerous rebrands and uniform changes, but their 2003-5 jerseys are by far the worst. It has the colors and the curvature, but it just doesn’t match the artistry in later jerseys.
New York Knicks: 2005-06 Hardwood Classic
With jerseys like these, no wonder the Knicks haven’t won a title since 1973. For a New York team, this is about as bland and unimaginative as a uniform can get, and the Number over the team name makes it that much worse. This shouldn’t exist.
Oklahoma City Thunder: 2012-13 Christmas
Another case of a solid color gone wrong, these Christmas Jerseys were likely the worst in Thunder history. The solid blue is bad enough, but the blue trim makes reading the jersey impossible. If you can’t read your team’s jersey, it needs to go.
Orlando Magic: 2016-17 Stars Jersey
This jersey had a bold concept, but mediocre execution. The black with the logo in the center isn’t bad, but the centralized look and the jersey number on the shoulder are so bad it’s good. More time to develop this would’ve kept it in circulation.
Philadelphia 76ers: 1991-94 Home Jersey
The 76ers Home jersey in the early 1990s is horrific. The stars, the offset letters, and even the color scheme, which isn’t bad on their own, but don’t work in this setup. This is more a bad PowerPoint presentation than a good jersey.
Phoenix Suns: 2014-17 Pride
It doesn’t matter about colors here, though the gray is as ugly as it comes, but it once again comes down to the sleeves. This is the worst jersey in Phoenix Suns history, and there isn’t much to say. Gray and sleeves.
Portland Trail Blazers: 1997-2002 Home Jersey
Portland typically has nice jerseys due to their color scheme and relatively repetitive jersey, but the late 90s- early 2000s home jerseys lack the visual pop that a home jersey needs. In comparison to the later jerseys they would wear, this is far too tame.
Sacramento Kings: 2005-2007 Alternate
Yellows and golds are hard enough to incorporate into a sports jersey, but Sacramento went for a bold choice using a Mustard Yellow. This is not only an ugly jersey, but the placement of the blue gives the impression that the colors are offset. This is one of the worst in league history.
San Antonio Spurs: 2014-17 Troops Jersey
It’s not so much the camouflage that makes this bad, but the sleeves again. Camo and the shade of yellow they used created a dissonance, but adding the sleeves gave it much more surface area. If the sleeves are included, give it a better color pattern.
Toronto Raptors: 2007-08 European Live Tour Jerseys
Simple can be effective. The profile of the Raptors jersey here isn’t inherently bad, but it’s the green and red need to be more prominent in the jersey, but come off as afterthoughts. The Raptors have historically great jerseys, but this isn’t one of them.
Utah Jazz: 1974-81 Home Jerseys
Home team jerseys are hard to design since the team wears these 41 games a year, and with the Jazz only sporting a four-letter word, it makes it more difficult. Later uniforms played with the purple color scheme, but this jersey is simplistic bordering on lazy.
Washington Wizards: 1985-87 Away Jerseys
Stripes belong on the billiard table, not an NBA jersey. The stripes take away from the number and the Bullets logo, making it a distraction instead of a fashion statement. These jerseys are hard to look at and something nobody ever needs to wear again.
