The Utah Jazz are a classic story of rags to riches. Not in terms of wins and losses, no, of course not. This is a team that won 17 out of 82 games last season — dead last in the NBA — has never and will
never be a free agent destination, and resides in one of the smallest markets among their peers. This is the definition of basketball poverty; it’s a miracle they aren’t playing on a concrete surface.
I’m talking about apparel. Fashion. Pure unadulterated style. The Jazz have shed their ragged, tattered cloaks, smattered in mysterious stains, bread crumbs from last Thursday, and threaded seams clinging to their withered fabrics. They’ve tossed aside burlap sacks and filthy pigpen-esque clouds of dust in favor of robes saturated with royalty. After a few years of hellish yellow searing viewers’ corneas, the Utah Jazz have evolved. They’ve risen in stature and status. From Bantam-quality uniforms that scream “I made this in an afternoon with a little help from MS Paint” to a crown, a robe, and a scepter all swaddled in comforting purple embrace.
Fetch me a goblet of something cool and refreshing. The Utah Jazz are fashion royalty, and the jerseys upon their backs speak to that fact. It’s a revolution. A metamorphosis. It’s inspiring. It’s majestic. It’s everything I could ever want. And yet…
When blessed with riches, it’s only human to crave more. More majesty cascading off every crest of the purple mountains. More class and dignity soaked within the locomotive “UTAH” spanning front and center. More eye candy for the hoards of trick-or-treaters. Though the Utah Jazz are seemingly inept when it comes to winning the scoreboard tug-of-war, their threads are absolutely catwalk-worthy.
But we haven’t even seen the full layout, and in the immortal words of Master Yoda, “there is… another.” The City Edition jerseys have yet to be revealed. For those of you who likewise long for the days of a home, away, and alternate uniform, you’ve almost certainly failed to memorize the new “association”, “statement”, and “icon” designations. However, you should know about the “City” edition. It’s one of the few things Utah fans have to look forward to in the near future, and unfortunately, it has reopened the Pandora’s Box that I call “speculation season”.
And Zach Lowe, our glorious king, titillated the masses with a verbal teaser: “City Edition jerseys have not been released yet… Utah fans are going to like them.”
So let’s fantasize together over some mock-ups. Let’s take a stroll down What-if Avenue and do some window shopping for the pending Utah Jazz uniform release.
Courtesy of SLC Dunk staffer, Kato Parina, these icy pennies are the frost atop the Wasatch Mountains. The ski-tracks carving up the slopes. In direct contrast to the iconic Southern Utah red-rock gradient in the original City Edition release, this combination flips the state on its head and leans into the Northern Utahn snow. I hear those sleighbells jingling, and the mountains are calling to me. Almost a call-back of the late 2000s era baby blues, many would be happy to see that frosty palette make a return.
These are beautiful and would be a welcome addition to the wardrobe.
But then, in defiance of God, another SLC Dunk staffer (who shall go unnamed but his name may or may not be Dray Mottishaw) dared to drape our beloved Jazz in a shade most thought had been sent on a one-way rocket into the Sun. Purged from the Earth, a color so hideous, so garish, that none could ever foresee its return.
Welcome back from hell, highlighter yellow.
Side note, if you’re in the market for a highlighter Bojan Bogdanovic uniform, you can still pick one up for under $30 at the Utah Jazz team store. Yes, the official team store. This is real.
Per @ProLineMockups and @jerseyarchive on X, the incoming City Edition could be another Dark Mode style, suffocating all light save for the name and numbers, which they project could be a bright white. As a fan, and purveyor of all things beautiful, I really hope the final product carries a bit more character — a bit more life.
So here we sit, waiting to be beautiful once again.
Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.
