The Charlotte Hornets were one of many NBA teams to unveil their 2024-25 City Edition uniforms today. As you can probably glean from the photo above, the team is referring to these as their “Minted Green” uniforms. These actually follow a four year story arc, with the mint color first being introduced in 2020. While the two that followed the 2020 release had different designs incorporating the light green color, their new uniform is basically the 2020 version with “CHARLOTTE” replacing “BUZZ CITY.”
Be that as it may, the team went to some length to promote the new uniform. We begin with the hype video…
The final chapter of Buzz City Minted has arrived.
Get yours now at the @hornetsfanshop at Spectrum Center or shop online anytime, anywhere.
*Online prices may vary.— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) November 14, 2024
These will be “The final minted chapter,” indicating that this will be the last season using the mint theme.
The team describes them thusly:
With a bold “Charlotte” wordmark across the chest and a striking mint green base, this uniform honors North Carolina’s unique history as the site of the nation’s first gold rush and mint. Black and gold accents add sophistication, reflecting the legacy of currency minted in the state. True to the team’s spirit, this edition brings together fashion, history and pride as the Hornets close out the minted series in unforgettable style.
Let’s look at some photos now.
The uniform is (obviously) the color mint. The arm and neck openings have gold and black stripes, while gold and black “pinstripes” run vertically down the jersey. “CHARLOTTE” is in a block arched font in black, with a gold outline. Numbers are also in black with a gold outline.
The back of the jersey has the same striping pattern as the front, with NOB in black block letters in a slight radial arch, with large black numbers (which are perforated) outlined in gold.
The shorts carry the same striping pattern as the jerseys, and feature a “704” logo on the waist band.
On the right side of the shorts is a large hornet logo.
That logo also appears on the left side of the pants as well, although it’s difficult to see in this photo:
If you’re curious about the design and colors, the team notes, “With a mint green silhouette, and granite and gold accents, the uniform is a continuation of the story of the first-ever U.S. Mint – which was established in Charlotte following the Carolina Gold Rush of the early 1800s – and is the final chapter of the Charlotte Hornets City Edition Minted Uniform series that was introduced in 2020-21.”
Here are some of the details of the uniform:
And of course, the Hornets will wear their uniforms on a special CE court.
The Hornets will wear the City Edition uniform for 10 home games and seven road games this season, beginning with the Saturday, November 16, contest against the Milwaukee Bucks at Spectrum Center. Additional home games where the City Edition uniform will be worn include Saturday, November 30, against the Atlanta Hawks; Saturday, December 7, against the Cleveland Cavaliers; Saturday, December 28, against the Oklahoma City Thunder; Monday, December 30 against the Chicago Bulls; Friday, January 24 against the Portland Trailblazers; Saturday, January 25 against the New Orleans Pelicans; Friday, January 31 against the Los Angeles Clippers; Saturday, February 1 against the Denver Nuggets and finally on Friday, February 7, against the San Antonio Spurs.
I like these, but I also liked them when they were first introduced in 2020. Mint is not a color used in many uniforms — I think the San Diego Padres “City Connect” uniforms may be one of the few others in sports. The uniform design is also excellent (I preferred the original Alexander Julian design, but the retro look on which this is based is also excellent). I’m wondering if the team had actually planned on a four-year story arc for these, or if they kinda ran out of ideas and said “Hey, let’s just swap HORNETS for BUZZ CITY and call it a day”? I’m ok with that, though, because I do like the color and the design. Of course, I do still question the need for a new CE every year. It seems like the Hornets may feel that way too.
Your thoughts?
I love the colors. This is definitely one of the better CE designs you’ll see.
I think it’s the best of the four-year arc, and it’s the best one for the whole league this year. Very nicely done.
I usually don’t like pastels, but I mostly like these. They’ve used the black pretty effectively to mitigate the low contrast between the mint and the gold.
That hornet logo is fantastic and the hexagons are underutilized, and I’d like to see more of those.
The pinstripes do bug me a little. I think I’d prefer them to to be the same color.
The lettering on the front and back are effective. The numbers are acceptable.
If someone were looking for other mint green uniforms, they probably exist mostly as “clash kits” and goaltender jerseys in the soccer world. I’d like to see a team use mint green with royal blue.
Nice mint and gold colors, nice details, but the Hornets already have very colorful and distinctive uniforms so no need for these.
Buzz city, Nola, Rip City, represent…yo yo check it out hip hop yo.
NBA is a shitshow
I don’t even have words for how ridiculous it is to make connections between basketball and hip-hop in a negative way. I know trolling is your thing, but this example isn’t close to clever.
Never forget the CLT uniform. It’s important to show the CLT uniform some love.
I do some business in NC and I’m shocked at how many companies use CLT as an abbreviation…
The thing is, the promotional material says there’s a CLT on these but I can’t seem to find it. Can someone help me find the CLT?
The CLT is on the jock tag, so you won’t see it with the jerseys tucked into the shorts.
Is it a serious thing, or is it a “we saw an opportunity to ‘sneak’ this in and we took it”? Kind like the south lake union trolley (SLUT) in Seattle?
No, it’s very serious. I was on the United States Army Corps of Engineers website yesterday, and under locations they had CLT.
Every time I see this abbreviation, it reminds me of this quote from “The Office”: “Yes, it is true. I, Michael Scott, am signing up with an online dating service. Thousands of people have done it, and I am going to do it. I need a username. And I have a great one. Little Kid Lover. That way people will know exactly where my priorities are at.”
CLT is much better than the terrible CHA that has been used before.
This is about as perfect as it gets for an alternate identity. I wouldn’t want them to move away from the teal and purple look full time, but these make for a sweet alternative.
I dig these a lot. Gonna look great on the court…
I can’t ever take away from how great the real and purple is or how huge it was for athletic aesthetics when they hit the scene with the original look, but I love this color scheme and the look in general. I would be very happy if they took a break from the teal and purple for a little while and embraced the mint and gold. Part of that might be that mint to teal is like a reverse of what so many teams did in the 90’s going from primary colors to dark moody colors.
These are very good and the switch to Charlotte from Buzz City is a huge improvement. Sad that they will only be used for one year.