We Love the New Nuggets Branding

The Denver Nuggets revealed their new Nike-fueled branding on Wednesday night.

Reviews so far have been mostly favorable.  There are always detractors but the revamp is neither drastic or outrageous enough to evoke a huge reaction.

The crossed pickaxe logo remains, with an additional, stark version as well as one with Denver Nuggets text around the edge.  The skyline returns with a refresh, reflecting Denver’s growth. It isn’t the rainbow skyline but it honors that iconic logo.

The official colors are Skyline Blue, Midnight Blue, Skyline Yellow and Flatirons Red.  All descriptors that capture the sunny, big sky front range.

More than at any point in the 50-year history of the Nuggets, the uniforms honor the city and the history of the franchise.

The jerseys are named, there is the road white, called Association, home blue is called Icon and the third jersey is called Statement.

The Statement jersey is skyline blue with flatirons red trim.  Think of Golden State’s ‘The Town’ uniforms, with the tree.  The text on the front of the Statement says “Mile High City” surrounding the jersey number.

I love the incorporation of the red into the uniforms.  As much as fans clamored for the skyline jerseys for nostalgia, there’s a whole era of Nuggets basketball that utilized the blue, yellow/gold and red color scheme.  Those teams had Antonio McDyess, Nick VanExel and the magical ’94 team wore those uniforms.  They should evoke as much of a nostalgic response as any retro look.

As much as anything, that’s the appeal to the new look.  It feels fresh and new but honors all of the previous iterations.  Fortunately for Denver, Nike recognized that Nuggets fans love the history of the team, for better or worse.  Among natives and long time residents/fans, the Nuggets occupy a spot just below the Broncos.  There’s a large dropoff after that to the Rockies and Avalanche.  The Avs were on their way but a lockout and a decade of bad hockey derailed their ascension.

For nearly 30 of the Nuggets 50 years in Denver, they were the only game in town beside the Broncos.  I, for one, appreciate Nike’s attention to the team’s Denver history while also acknowledging that the team has a bright future.

Let’s hope the young squad can make these uniforms as iconic as their predecessors.