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Warriors, Cavaliers, other teams break out Nike Statement jerseys on Thanksgiving weekend

Hot deals are all the rage on Thanksgiving weekend, and that trend seeped into the NBA on Friday night with the on-court debuts of Nike Statement jerseys. Some of these Nike alternate jerseys are similar to those worn in seasons past, while others live up to their name in dramatic fashion.

The Cleveland Cavaliers fit in the former group, as their new mostly black Statement jerseys are similar to the ones they wore in the championship-clinching Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. LeBron James told Cleveland.com on Friday that is just as fond of that symbolism as anyone.

“It’s probably going to be a staple of this franchise forever,” James said. “Because we won our first championship in franchise history in all black so, no matter who is in uniform here throughout the rest of eternity, I feel like the black will be incorporated, the black uniform with probably be incorporated in the grand scheme of things just for the memories.”

Black proved to be a popular choice for the Statement line, even in the green-and-white empire that is Boston. It’s a bold breakaway from the Celtics’ storied past, but the team’s present team — which sports a league-best 16-3 record — appears ready to make it iconic in Beantown.

The Phoenix Suns also went with black, a hearkening to the black alternate jerseys they wore in mid-1990s. The “PHX” moniker is a more recent reference to their late 2000s orange alternates worn by Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire and others.

The Bulls also hearkened back to their 1990s glory days by going black, a look made even more popular by Michael Jordan & Co.’s second three-peat.

The Atlanta Hawks differed in their jersey lineup, sporting black in their Icon edition while saving red for the Statement version. A fun extra in this one: the uniquely hawkish letter ‘A’ that gives the jersey an extremely franchise-specific feel.

The boldest Statement, however, might come courtesy of Oklahoma City. After toying around with large doses of sky blue and burnt orange in previous alternates, Nike and the Thunder to use both bold colors as accents while letting a thunder-esque new font do most of the talking.

While OKC went conservative with bold colors, the Indiana took the opposite approach. Yellow/gold has always been featured in the franchise’s history, but the Pacers decided to double down on that color this time around. Another drastic difference: the circular use of the full team name around the jersey number instead of the straight/arched/slanted approaches we usually see.

The Golden State Warriors may possess the most unique Statement jerseys in the league, which honor the Oakland community with its iconic “The Town” moniker and oak tree symbol. They will debut these threads on Saturday.

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