Chris Paul guarding Kobe Bryant in Lakers Hollywood Nights Jersey (Photo : Stephen Dunn / Getty Images Sport)
The Los Angeles Clippers have recently unveiled alternate black colored uniforms.
It is now common practice for NBA teams to have more than two sets of uniforms. There are alternate home and away jerseys and even retro jerseys, all part of the marketing game.
As the LA Clippers unveiled their new logo design for the season (as brought on by new owner Steve Ballmer) and it was already met with huge criticism. This article from Time has the video unveiling as well as some of the Twitter reactions.
That was June, when the previous season just ended, and this is November, when the new season just started and the Clippers are gaining a reputation as the league's most hated team.
The black jerseys are called "Celebrate Downtown LA" and this was defined by NBC Sports.
"The Clippers unveiled a new black alternate uniform on Friday, something they will wear for the first time Saturday night when they host the Houston Rockets. They will wear them for five other Saturday night home games this season as part of a downtown Saturday night promotion."
Clippers unveil black alternate uni that they will wear for 6 "Celebrate Downtown LA" games pic.twitter.com/tksqEH0WIf
— AP (@Ananth_Pandian) November 6, 2015
The comparison with their crosstown rivals LA Lakers "Hollywood Nights" jerseys seemed inevitable, although that jersey was met with mostly positive feedback.
SB Nation called the alternate uniforms "worse than their normal horrible ones" and gave very strong criticism.
"The Los Angeles Clippers have made a series of questionable decisions with their #brand. Their logo was generally reviled by NBA fans, and their uniforms weren't an exception. But despite that, all of the changes pale in comparison to the team's new black alternate uniforms."
The Clippers, despite all the criticism, remain one of the prime contenders for the NBA championship.
