Khris Middleton to the Wizards. DeAaron Fox to the Spurs. Jimmy to the Warriors. LUKA TO THE GODDAMN LAKERS. After one of the most active trade deadlines in NBA history, lots have been written about which players have improved their or their team’s situations. I wanted to take a look at which players made an upgrade aesthetically.

Luka Dončić: Mavs to Lakers

While I have strong opinions on the Lakers’ current uni set, I also think there’s perhaps no team in the NBA more in need of a uni overhaul than the Dallas Mavericks. I hate the fonts. I hate the sidepanels and shoulder swooshes. I hate that all of this looks worse on their primary blue uniform. I hate that their uniforms have been mostly unchanged for over 20 years. The Mavs have one of the stalest looks in the league.

So in that respect, Luka Dončić made a major uni upgrade by being traded from Dallas to LA.

Anthony Davis: Lakers to Mavs

It was (unfortunately) the most predictable thing in NBA history that Anthony Davis, one of the most snakebitten stars of his generation, got injured in the third quarter of his Mavericks debut, after the team initiated a full-on fan mutiny in order to acquire him. Now Davis is out for an indefinite amount of time. At least he won’t have to wear a Mavericks uniform during that stretch. The only Mavericks uniform that Davis has worn in a game is coincidentally the best uniform the Mavericks currently have in their rotation, their City Editions. If the Mavericks reoriented their entire identity around these, they’d be cooking with gas.

Overall, a downgrade for AD, but at least he played his only game in their best uni.

 Jimmy Butler: Heat to Warriors

The NBA’s most persnickety star whined and misbehaved his way out of Miami and into the Bay Area. He’s now played four games for the Warriors, and is yet to wear either of the team’s primary uniforms in a game. The Warriors have worn their City Editions in three of the games he’s played in, and their Classic Editions in the fourth. While the Dubs’ City Editions aren’t much to write home about, I think the Warriors’ Classic Editions are some of the better-looking alternates in the NBA today, and the team’s primary unis are modern classics as well.

The Heat, however, have turned their unis into modern classics of their own, despite being around for over 20 years themselves at this point — in fact, the Mavs and Heat adopted their current looks before the 2001-02 season. Unlike the Mavs, though, the Heat don’t feel dated at all. Red and black always look good together (unless they’re on a “Heat Culture” City Edition), and the team’s Miami Vice alternates are incredible. Overall, I’m thinking it’s a wash for Jimmy, but closer to a downgrade than an upgrade.

DeAaron Fox: Kings to Spurs

We all know that purple is Uni Watch’s Official Most Hated Color,™ and the Spurs have had an iconic identity since they left the Chaparrals look in Dallas. And yet, I think this is closer than it first appears. The Kings are a long way away from their old identity, with all those blocky wordmarks. I adore the the Kings’ script and I don’t have nearly the aversion to purple that our esteemed founder does. I’m also partial to the Spurs’ pre-2017 wordmark, even if the current one is more readable.

Screw it. Downgrade for DeAaron. I just love the Kings’ current unis so much. 

Zach LaVine: Bulls to Kings

Okay, I don’t love the Kings’ unis this much. The Bulls have one of the most solid, recognizable, and timeless looks in all of professional sports, let alone basketball, and no amount of fancy-schmancy scripts can promote the Sacramento Goddamn Kings over them. It’s probably good for LaVine’s career for him to finally move on from Chicago, but aesthetically? Downgrade.

De’Andre Hunter: Hawks to Cavs

I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: I think the Hawks’ unis are among the best in the NBA. After the team’s brief flirtation with neon in the mid-2010s, they went in the total opposite direction and adopted a set that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the 1960s. The Hawks’ current set is gorgeous.

The Cavs’ current set is not. I’ve always thought that they looked like practice unis. Instead of no-frills simplicity, they look incomplete at best and lazy at worst. The early LeBron 2.0 identity the best the team has looked in recent history, and they didn’t even wait until LeBron left again to start fucking it up. And even those would be better than what the team currently wears. Sorry De’Andre — major downgrade.

Kyle Kuzma: Wizards to Bucks

I get why Washington teams want to be red, white, and blue. The nation’s capital and all that. Still, I can’t help but feel like the Wizards would be a more recognizable and aesthetically-pleasing team if they went back to their first Wizards identity. The red, white, and blue is just so…generic. So bleh. And it doesn’t really work for a team called ‘the Wizards’, either.

I’m not the biggest fan of the Bucks’ current set — I like the colors well enough, but I’m not really a fan of the fonts. The unis are solidly in “fine” territory — not great, not terrible. Overall, though, an upgrade.