Update: Sacramento Kings To Wear Former Checkerboard Alternate Jersey For 2012-13 Season Alternate
By Bryan Rose
Everybody loves an alternate jersey, right? Well, except for these – sorry, didn’t mean to re-hash traumatic memories.
Take a minute – it’s okay. All better? Good, cause we have some great news thanks to Paul Lukas at Uni Watch who confirmed rumors that the Sacramento Kings would indeed be rocking an additional uniform in their arsenal this season.
"“I saw the Spring 2013 Adidas NBA Catalog and there are some new on-court offerings,” says Chris Blackstone. “There are new jerseys for Christmas Day and for home weekend games during the second half of season, called the Winter Court jerseys. They’re monochrome like the all-black Miami uniforms from the past couple years, but in team colors. Also, there are Hardwood Classic jerseys for Indiana (home from 1997-98 through 2004-05), Milwaukee (late ’90s), Chicago (mid-’90s alternate), Atlanta (late-’90s road), Miami (late-’90s alternate), Sacramento (mid-’90s alternate), Phoenix (1990s alternate), Philly (early-’90s road), Cleveland (mid-’90s road), Toronto (late-’90ss home), Houston (late-’90s road), and Utah (late-’90s road).” No word on whether the NBA plans to put ads on throwbacks in 2013"
The Kings only wore three uniform styles during the 90’s – the early part of the decade they wore the white, blue and red color combination, eventually moving onto the traditional black, white and purple ‘Chris Webber era’ color scheme for the ’94-95 season (purple alternate was introduced in ’97). They also wore the extremely unique half on half checkerboard style from ’94-96, though, it’s hard to imagine those returning ever again.
Going off what we know, as Blackstone mentions it was a “mid-90’s” jersey and the fact that it appears to be an alternate, not a throwback (alternates doesn’t usually completely void color schemes like the early 90’s red/blue would), one could take a reasonable guess that the Kings may bring back the much beloved glory years jersey, although it may not be the traditional home and away uniforms as we got accustom to but rather the purple alternate of those years, considering the Kings already have a semi-black alternate in use.
Here are the options presented from the 90’s (all images thanks to Chris Creamer’s Sportslogos.net):
UPDATE:
Despite my sense that the Kings wouldn’t break the checkerboard’s out of retirement, according to Spencer Hall, the Kings will indeed use the former alternate uniform for the upcoming season (second row, first jersey on your left). Have to say, I’m pretty geeked up about it.