New York Knicks

The New York Knicks jerseys have, for the most part, kept their classic look and colors over the years. While most people know the team familiarly as the Nicks, the formal name is the New York Knickerbockers. A Knickerbocker is a term that was used to describe the Dutch settlers of New York City and eventually became applied to all residents of New York City. The Knicks were part of the original NBA. They played their first game in 1946 wearing white, orange and blue which are the official colors of New York City. The Knicks are one of two original NBA teams still in their original city, the other being the Boston Celtics. The original shorts were belted and the team wore white at home games and blue on the road.

In 1961 the New York Knicks made subtle changes to their classic look. On the home white uniforms the lettering and numbering were blue with orange trim. In the 1967 season the belted shorts were part of the New York Knicks jersey for the last time switching to the more conventional draw string shorts.

Again, not tampering much with the classic look, in 1968, the Knicks changed the lettering on the home uniforms putting blue trim on orange lettering. A year later, the lettering on the road uniforms was changed to match the home uniforms. The players names were added to the back of the uniforms. These New York Knicks jerseys are often referred to as the “Championship Era” uniforms. From this era, you will find the Willis Reed jersey hanging from the rafters of Madison Square Garden as well as on display at the NBA Hall of Fame; as with the Bill Bradley jersey, the Earl Monroe jersey and the Walt Frazier jersey.

After sticking with the traditional colors and looks, the Knicks instated a dramatic change in 1978. The team colors were changed to maroon and dark blue. The New York Knick jerseys were radically altered. The word “Knicks” was boldly displayed on the front of the uniform beneath the number. This is the only time in the team history when the teams nickname was displayed on the uniforms. The road uniforms displayed the word “New York” on the front of the jersey below the number.

The maroon color lasted four years before the New York Knicks returned to the more traditional “Championship Era” uniforms. Number had been added to right leg of the shorts. New road uniforms were introduced in 1995 sporting black panels down the sides with orange trim. The teams new logo, nicknamed the NYC Subway Token, was also added to the uniform. In 2001, the Knicks slimmed down the black panels running down the sides of the uniform and removed the player’s number from the shorts. In 2002 the “Subway Token” logo was placed on the back of the uniform just below the player’s name. Recent popular Knicks players include: Amare Stoudemire, Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury.