Phoenix Suns: Breaking Down The New Uniforms

In a highly touted fashion show in Scottsdale, Ariz., Thursday night, the Phoenix Suns finally revealed their new uniforms last night. After months of speculation and sneak peaks at the revamped jerseys following the reveal of new logos, Phoenix finally showed off the unis its players will be wearing throughout the 2013-14 NBA season. But it wasn’t just the new uniforms that revealed an important message. Rather, the show itself said a lot about the state of the organization.

But before we get to that, let’s break down the jerseys themselves. In a shout out to the original uniforms of the past, famous for the Suns burst and rising sun on the shorts, these new Phoenix uniforms sport similar rising suns on all the shorts. The jersey design also pays respect to the famous ’90s shooting sun throwbacks of the ’90s that made a bit of a comeback this season when the Suns brought their bad-ass black uniforms multiple times this past season.

The white home jerseys say “Suns” on the front in orange, have the jersey number in black and have orange lines that give the notion of high-speed motion while also giving a minor shout out to those shooting sun throwbacks. The purple jerseys are similar, but instead say “Phoenix” in white, the lines are also in white and the player’s number is in orange. The orange alternates are sleeved, which is a questionable decision in and of itself, read “Suns” in white, have white lines and black jersey numbers. To summarize, the white home uniforms are somewhat plain but passable, the purple road jerseys are easily the best and the orange alternates are really going to be hit-or-miss, love-it-or-hate-it with fans. In my opinion, sleeves are a travesty and the hue of the orange alternates looks like someone drank too much Sunny D and threw up, but that’s just me.

It would have been easy to just give in to popular demand and let those ’90s shooting sun throwbacks (or a similar redesign) become the Suns’ regular jerseys again. But regardless of your opinion on the new jerseys, it says something that Suns fans actually had something to be excited about despite entering another season that will undoubtedly wind up near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. And even if fans dislike the new uniforms, they have some strong feeling entering the season. Without this uniform reveal, the only other feelings entering the season would be “trepidation” bordering on “outright depression.” And at the very least, these new uniforms are a step up from the unbearably plain purple/gray road uniforms and the appalling orange/gray alternates the Suns have been wearing these past few years.

But what about the show itself? What does all this promotion, hype and a full-blown fashion show say about the state of the organization? And are we as fans reading into this image change too much?

The show itself was over the top. It was slightly pompous. It was definitely drawn out. Beautiful Suns dancers waltzed up and down wearing shortened retro Phoenix Suns jerseys as dresses. Phoenix legends walked down the runway while also walking fans through the history of the Suns’ uniforms and warmups. Dick Van Arsdale, Alvan Adams, Walter Davis, Tom Chambers and other Suns alums sported the retro Suns jerseys and gave out high fives to dozens of kids lining the runway as Al McCoy narrated and pumped up the crowd to the best of his abilities.

After posting the second-worst record in franchise history last season, it’s no wonder the Phoenix Suns are looking to change their image, both on and off the court. Like Sean Highkin above, I also can’t recall an NBA uniform reveal as highly promoted as this. But you know what? As a Suns fan, I was perfectly OK with it. After weeks of curiosity and anxiety regarding a change-up to my favorite team’s jerseys, I wasn’t exactly blown away. But the fact that I was even remotely excited about my favorite team, a team that finished last in the West last season, months before the season starts is a step in the right direction.

The foundation of that, of course, is new general manager Ryan McDonough and the moves he’s made this offseason. Despite the fact that Phoenix will most likely spend the 2013-14 thinking up inventive ways to out-tank the competition, bringing in Eric Bledsoe, Caron Butler and a host of draft picks has given fans hope for the future for the first time in quite awhile. So as much as new uniforms won’t help the Suns in the win column next season, they’re a brilliant PR move to give fans something to be excited about.

On the surface, it’s kind of sad to say that these new uniforms might be one of the highlights of the year for the Phoenix Suns. And there’s no question the organization and fans alike were milking tonight for all it was worth. But the intrinsic, lasting message was this: This is a new era in the Valley of the Sun. As impossible as it is to forget about the recent bad times and it’s hard to ignore that this team has still never won an NBA championship, it became very clear that this uniform overhaul is about the organization’s focus on a brighter future. Suddenly the rising sun on those shorts takes on a whole new meaning.