My, oh my. Just when you thought that the Oklahoma City Thunder might take the big bright route on their new alternate uniforms, they turned the volume all the way down.
The Thunder released their new sets yesterday amidst a sea of relative shock. You can hear some of the fans in their heads, thinking, “Just dark blue and white? With six different colors in the logo, they went primary? And misaligned stripes?”
Yeah, man. They switched it all the way up.
The Thunder are saying that the new additions are, “timeless and reflect the personality of our industrious, hard-working, proud and committed community.” Thunder basketball writer Nick Gallo’s use of adjectives like “blue collar” and “community” almost makes it feel like the Thunder are positioning as mascots for the city’s large conservative demographic.
The Thunder’s alts are so unusual, because of the subtle form of the design. Apart from the navy/white combination, they’re hella basic – Boston-level basic, almost. The necklines have the old-school scoopneck collars, the numbers and script font have stayed consistent, and there’s really a funky kind of nostalgia for a team who is as old as Lady Gaga's fame.
Funny, though. The Thunder seem to have swagger-jacked an old team from upstate New York and southern Ohio now playing in northern California. With the exception of that bold vertical stripe being oppositely oriented, what the Cincinnati Royals have to do with the Thunder is anyone’s guess.
If nothing else, it gives people something to take their minds off of the recent turnover of the OKC roster – no ‘Hard’ feelings, right?
