The OKC Thunder have become the latest NBA team to unveil their new City Edition (CE) uniform, following the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, and Minnesota Timberwolves over the past week.
As of this writing, the team has not released a hype video (which is fine), but if they do I’ll add it to this article.
While the Thunder haven’t exactly done a color swap, as we’ve seen some teams do for this year’s uniforms, the new CE looks to be combining elements of their past two City editions.
Here is the new, 2024-25 City Edition uniform:
And here are the prior two seasons’ City Edtion uniforms:
The colors for the new CE uniform remain the same as those from last season, while the arched “OKLAHOMA” wordmark and number font are very similar to the “THUNDER” wordmark and number from the 2022-23 version.
The jersey itself is black, with orange/gold thick striping around the neck and sleeve openings, and continuing down the sides of the jersey. A side panel with a blue and black pattern sits between the orange/gold striping. “OKLAHOMA” is rendered in gold, with a black and orange outline. Numbers are located beneath the wordmark and are in gold, with small perforations. The team didn’t exactly go to great lengths with the storytelling on this one:
One of the more prevalent themes with CE uniforms that don’t differ much from the previous year is to say they are following a “two-year story arc” (or something equally cringy). Here the OKC follow that pattern in describing the sublimated pattern found on the side panel:
The rear of the jersey can be seen in the following photos of fans donning the new top. Numbers are in gold, with NOB located below the number, and rendered in orange.
The shorts have the same striping pattern/side panel as the jerseys, which also include the orange/gold trim at the shorts hem. The waistband also features a graphic representation of the state of Oklahoma at the center. The OKC “Doritos” logo is on the left side of the shorts, down by the hem.
“The 24-25 City Edition Uniform is an expression of Oklahoma City’s progression and unique cultural renaissance stemming from the optimism inherent in Oklahoma’s people and heritage,” said Brian Byrnes, Thunder senior vice president of Business Operations. “It pays tribute to the innovators that have shaped Oklahoma’s culture and are pushing it forward.”
Here’s how the Thunder is describing their new uniforms:
As a statement of unity, the jersey features OKLAHOMA lettering across the chest. This is only the second Thunder uniform to feature the state’s name as the visual center. The base of the uniform sets a distinct tone and is topped with a belt buckle of the state’s outline which speaks to the pride in Oklahoma’s roots, what it is today, and trajectory into the future.
The pops of color in the piping, chest mark, and numbers represent Oklahoma City’s energy as well as the bright and optimistic art commonly found throughout the community.
The pattern featured inside the side panel is custom-made and consists of various elements of Thunder logos and wordmarks. The elements overlap representing how progression is the result of layering collective experiences, contributions, and perspectives.
In addition to the new CE uniforms, the team has also unveiled a new court design which will be used when the team dons their CEs.
The Thunder will debut the new uniforms this Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks. Each Sunday home game, beginning November 17, is designated as a “City Nights” game, during which the team will wear the uniform and play on the City Edition court.
You can see a few more graphics for the uniform here.
Your thoughts?
Did they just really want the rest of the uniform to match the Love’s advertisement? Ugh
Exactly what I’m thinking. I wonder if Love’s sent them a drawing of this on a napkin.
Of all the uniforms that OKC has worn…this is one of them.
Pretty par for the course for a merch dump program that ran out of actual ideas years ago.
The “two year story arch” bit is pretty cringey. Especially because the real story (the designers running out of ideas) is going to be longer than a two year arch.
Completely agreed on the “two year story arc” garbage. I can’t remember, did OKC or Minnesota announce last seaon that those unis were the first year of a two-season design angle or did Nike make up this storytelling on the fly?
Unview? Does that mean it was leaked and they took it back? Or it’s an invisible scheme?
GAH!
Nice catch. Hed now fixed.
Nothing says “City Edition” uniform like using the name of the state instead. Nike needed to end this program 5 years ago.
The Thunder have the worst identity in the NBA. Absolutely nothing going on. Everything looks like it was meant to be a placeholder but instead it’s stuck around for 16 years.
I don’t want to think hard enough to agree with “worst” but I agree with the rest of it.
The color scheme is a nice one but better fits a legacy team with a vague identity like the warriors who should return to either a blue/yellow/orange or blue/yellow/red scheme. The thunder should switch to something more befitting of thunder like royal/powder/silver or blue grey/grey/silver and come up with a logo that actually suggests thunder, or the plains, or Oklahoma, or the native people’s culture. Not just a “shield” with a basketball in it.
Man I agree with you big time. OKCs branding has always bothered me. Especially the logo. Reminds me of WNBA
Uninspired, tired garbage. As exciting as “Utah Hockey Club.” Strictly boilerplate.
NBA gets more and more like soccer/futbol every day. New uniforms every year. Ads on jersey’s and sidelines. Flopping abundant. Players yelling at referees for a foul.
You are so right about this.
“It all started here. The “OKLAHOMA” chestmark pays tribute to where our story began”.
It should say Seattle, then.
PS – they went to great linguistic lengths to obfuscate what could have simply been expressed as “we slapped some blue crap on the side panel.”
Weak….. Weak soooo very weak. OKC desperately needs a rebrand
This feels like a merch decision. People in the Oklahoma area are more likely to buy and wear a jersey that says “Oklahoma” on it as opposed to “OKC”, or “Thunder”. So in that regard, makes sense.
It wouldn’t be that bad of a uniform really if it weren’t for the horrible NOB. That’s terrible.
Seems even worse than that. It’s almost like they’ve created a uniform that matches their jersey ad.
They never get it right with their uniforms and this is no exception. Team colors are cool, nickname is cool so a lot of uniform potential but the logo is the worst in the NBA and they mess up every single uniform. Also that storytelling is atrocious.
The colors always felt like a ripoff of the Knicks, but after 2 decades they’ve done nothing to improve the design. The double outlined numbers and workmark just feel so mid-90’s.
Wow it’s black.
Looks very similar to the GSW ones. Did they just repurpose those and put OKC on it instead? Did they even read to see what Oklahoma is known for?
For an organization that’s had some of the best players in the NBA, and currently has it’s the league’s best young core, this is horribly uninspiring.
Time for a total rebrand, folks. Quit delaying this. The original design wasn’t even that great, there’s no need to still have it 20 years later.