Charlotte Hornets Unveil New Uniforms and They Are a Delight

The Charlotte Hornets unveiled their rebranded uniforms today. Teams tend to redesign their jerseys every offseason, but none of them are as big a deal as this. It's easy to argue that, after 10 years of futility as the Bobcats, Charlotte's entire future relevance hinges on these jerseys. Mess them up, and you've tarnished the brand with the most nostalgic value in the league. Get them right and you could have a bestseller on your hands no matter how the team actually, you know, plays.

Fortunately, Michael Jordan's Hornets nailed the redesign. Like the updated logo they released in December, the new uniforms are unmistakably the descendants of the classic early-'90s pinstripes, but they're updated enough to avoid being an uncreative carbon copy. And none of them have sleeves!

The Charlotte Hornets 2.0 also smartly avoid replicating the New Orleans Hornets, who became the Pelicans a year ago and debuted some sharp new uniforms of their own. These are bolder, more in-your-face, and most importantly, more teal. They conjure all the best elements of the 1990s jersey trend—make everything louder—without going full-on cartoon.

Particularly stunning is the road jersey, a purple-and-teal piece with an homage to the classic pinstripes on the sides.

NBA teams are starting to hit upon the perfect blend of retro and modern when they redesign their jerseys. The Sixers, Warriors, Suns, Jazz, and Cavaliers have undergone enormously successful rebrandings by going clean and tasteful. The Hornets are continuing in that direction, but with more teal.

No sleeves, no gimmicks.

As spectacular as an oversized cartoon Hugo would have been, the margin for failure there is much lower. Get that wrong and they could have a Pierre the Pelican-esque disaster on their hands.

Terrific new look aside, the most important detail of the new Hornets jerseys might be one of the smallest. All three versions feature the NBA logo on the back, above the player name, instead of the customary upper right front placement. Adam Silver has made noise for several months about the inevitability of eventual ads on the fronts of his league's jerseys. Clearing out that real estate on the front could be the first step in that direction. It would only make sense that Jordan, one of the most brand-conscious figures in the history of professional sports, could potentially be the owner to lead the charge.

The Bobcats-to-Hornets rebrand couldn't have been timed any better for the franchise's trajectory. This season, the Bobcats made the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. They still have yet to win a playoff game since their inception in 2004, but they're unmistakably on the upswing. They have one of the most highly regarded young coaches in the NBA in Steve Clifford, a legitimate scoring threat in Al Jefferson, another high pick in next week's draft, and a couple of fun young talents in Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

If this team becomes a perennial playoff contender, it's for the best that nobody has to risk raising any banners or retiring any numbers under the Bobcats identity, which has ranged from hideous to putrid to merely mediocre through various redesigns. The Hornets are back, and that's cause for celebration for everybody.

Now please enjoy this stirring photograph of Anthony Mason and Vlade Divac enjoying some truly special power forward/center time together … at a dude ranch? Sure, whatever.

I'm working on a gallery of the original Charlotte Hornets for PM Hot Clicks. Vlade and Mase will be involved. pic.twitter.com/Xpge5hWmER

— Andy Gray (@si_vault) June 19, 2014