The Brooklyn Nets will be bringing back their iconic style to Barclays Center when the new NBA season kicks off next year — finally marking a return to the fan-favorite “tie-dye” aesthetic of the 90s-era, according to the team’s ownership group.
“The tie-dye jersey has long been a fan-favorite and we strive to be an organization that listens carefully to our fans,” said BSE Global CEO John Abbamondi in a statement.
The sky-blue-and-red jerseys first made their debut in 1990 when the ball team still played in New Jersey, but the new-look Nets will now be paying homage to the Hall of Famers that walked the court before them, said all-star point guard Kyrie Irving.
“I’m excited to pay homage to some of the Nets legends that came before me,” Irving said. “Knowing that I was once a fan, and now I’ve become a part of it…I’m grateful to be able to do it, and I’m honored.”
The jerseys lasted just one year before the team switched over to wearing royal blue — and later to black and white, after their move to Kings County — but the light blue color scheme has taken on an outsized role in Nets’ lore, according to Abbamondi, who reintroduced the fan-favorite after nearly three decades of retirement.
“The Nets are proud to reintroduce this timeless uniform in honor of its 30th anniversary,” he said.
The franchise, which is now selling the retro jerseys online, will continue to wear their normal uniforms for most games, but will don the alternate getup on special occasions, said Abbamondi.
And while the official start date of the new season remains in flux due to the coronavirus pandemic — which put a temporary stop to the 2020 season that ended on Oct. 11 — the Nets will be among the league’s premier teams whenever play resumes.
After signing league MVP Kevin Durant in the 2019 offseason, along with Irving, the team figures to be among the best in the Eastern Conference — and are widely considered contenders to bring the first championship back to the borough since the Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series in 1955.
