The Phoenix Suns Are Bringing Back One Of The Greatest Jerseys Of All Time This Season
Sam Forencich. Getty Images.
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YES!!!!
You can now add the Phoenix Suns to the list of NBA teams who have figured their shit out and are bringing back their fire (no pun intended but intended) throwbacks for the 2022-23 season. When we started to get these leaks earlier in the summer my hope was that this was going to be a league wide thing and not just a random team here and there. So far we've seen the Pistons bring back their teal look, the Warriors are bringing back their Run TMC era look, the Bucks are bringing back the TJ Ford era, the Wizards are bringing back the MJ era, and now this. I think most fans have been screaming for this to happen for years because everyone knows nostalgia plays. Plus the new Nike futuristic uniforms have been so terrible that it made no sense why they didn't just bite the bullet and bring back the classics. The NBA/Nike like making money right? Well the easiest way to do that is to throw out a classic uniform look with the current rosters. It now seems like they realized that.
Make no mistake, the Suns throwback might be my favorite of all time. It's incredible. The only non Celtics jersey I have ever owned in my entire life is a Dan Majerle Suns jersey. This guy
Rocky Widner. Getty Images.I loved that jersey. Partly because my name was also Dan and back in the 1994-95 season a 7 year old Greenie thought hey if that white guy named Dan could make the NBA and be an All Star, then so could I. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Shocking I know, but at the time the dream was there. I'll always have a connection to these throwback Suns jerseys and I don't think I'm alone there. I feel like EVERYONE grew up having this jersey if you were an NBA fan in the mid 90s. I'm not sure people truly remember how good those teams were.
In 1991-92 the Suns went 53-29 behind the group of Jeff Hornacek/Kevin Johnson/Dan Majerle/Tom Chambers where they would lose in 5 games in the 2nd round to Clyde Drexler and the Blazers. In the 1992 season, they brought in Charles Barkley/Danny Ainge and went 62-20. That team wins a title if not for this fella you may have heard of
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The Suns would go on to win 56 games in 1993-94 and then 59 games in 1994-95. For my money, they are easily one of the best teams to never win an NBA title. It seems fitting that the current era of the Suns, the ones that won 51 games (in 72 total) and then 64-18 last year only to lose in the Finals and then in the 2nd round rock the exact jersey of the team that had pretty much the exact same run. If not for a generational player (Giannis), the Suns win that title the same way Jordan blocked them in 1993.
There are already a billion different reasons why I'm extremely excited for the 2022-23 NBA season, and not too far down the list is this commitment to bringing back the classics. Not only does it remind me of the good ol' days, but they look incredible. If I was making the rules I would just make these available permanently for all games. Not just a select few. If the Suns want to rock these are their permanent jerseys, they should be allowed to.
Now I'm wondering who is going to be next. The Hawks? A little Dikemba era action? The Raptors bringing back the purple dinosaur? Could we get the Sonics look for OKC? Ok, that would be fucked up but you get my point. The can of worms has been opened and there's no going back, so tell me who's next already.