Fans react to the court design that will be used for NAB Cup games in November and December.
Leaks! They are everywhere! Quick, get a bucket! The ship is taking on water. I don’t know if it’ll be able to hold, cap’n!
Following the recent leak of the Phoenix Suns’ City Edition jersey, more annual design details have emerged. This time, it’s the playing surface for the Emirates NBA Cup.
Before we show you what that looks like, let’s think back a year. Back when the NBA Cup was called the “In-Season Tournament.” The “IST”, for those of us who appreciate a good abbreviation. Which still was kind of a funky abbreviation because if you look at it real quick, you thought it was “1ST”. The first? What in the name of Dragon Bender’s left sock are they talking about?
Each NBA team had a unique court design for the In-Season Tournament, paired with their City Edition uniforms. This combination helped casual viewers easily distinguish between regular season games and tournament matchups.
“Hey, what’s up with that court? What’s going on?” These are the questions you would hear at your local pub while viewing these games, and for some of us, we felt it was our duty to inform them of what the IST was and how it worked. But after three beers, even we were confused.
You may recall what those courts looked like…
Court is ready to go for the first In-Season Tournament game tomorrow night! pic.twitter.com/0BBnMdZYnS
— John Voita (@DarthVoita) November 9, 2023
They were special. Unique. Blinding?
Some teams were better than others, and in hindsight, perhaps the Suns weren’t horrible. Okay, who am I kidding? They were awful. It was like watching Grimace burn your retinas. Fry your cones and rods. Discombobulate your irises. Is there any part of the eye anatomy that I missed? Well, those courts did something to that, too.
Fast-forward a year. The NBA has sold the rights to the In-Season Tournament and rebranded it. Perhaps they did so to ease confusion. The In-Season Tournament is a long name and a crummy abbreviation. The NBA Cup has a nicer ring to it. And while it still will be hard to explain to the casual fan, it just sounds more inviting.
It appears that the NBA also listened to and cared about our ocular feedback. Leaks are showing what the NBA Cup courts could look like, and they are a hell of a lot easier on the eyes.
New in-season tournament court for the Suns. Teams will wear the Statement Edition for tournament games this season. pic.twitter.com/GqyJZgMNor
— Suns Uniform Tracker (@SunsUniTracker) September 19, 2024
Raise your hand if orange is your preferred color. The Suns ditched last year’s purple overload and swung hard in the opposite direction, leaning fully into the other primary color. And it’s…an interesting choice, Cotton.
The NBA Cup once again takes center stage, but this time, instead of “El Valle” across the middle, the Suns’ logo sits orangely. It’s encircled by a bold orange ring, with a softer, more muted circle behind it. The rest of the court is bathed in a lighter shade of orange, with an oversized, faded “PHX” logo stretching from baseline to baseline, giving the whole court the look of a giant orange target with a subtle “PHX” at its core.
What do people think? Mixed reviews, but mostly positive.
Sorta makes me feel like my eyes are gonna bleed if I look at the court too long… https://t.co/RDKD5Zbnod
— PositiveVibesOnly (@SoSaysJ) September 19, 2024
This one is alot better than last year https://t.co/RUUW2TaGsg
— Bubba‼️ (@azbubba04) September 19, 2024
This is a million times better than the awful in-season tournament court from last year https://t.co/aymADjznEG
— Goldschmidt Happened (@GoldyHappens) September 19, 2024
Why do I feel like CBS inspired this? https://t.co/uofYvbodtI
— John Voita (@DarthVoita) September 19, 2024
Now this is hot https://t.co/qICQipNG6m
— OG (@SadAZYotesFan) September 19, 2024
Designers loved every swatch or orange at Lowe’s. Decided to use them all. https://t.co/b5sHaxYvss
— Suns JAM Session Podcast (@SunsJAM) September 19, 2024
Lookin goooood! https://t.co/rk1ArB0iAx
— Boyd (@boods83) September 19, 2024
All in all, it is another uniform/court combination that I feel we will get used to. We always do. It’s one of those things that changes every year. A new City Edition uniform here, a new NBA Cup court there. It’s part of the cadence of the off-season when it all comes together, it’s a perfect storm.
Quick! There’s still water coming on board! Board up that window! We’re not going down like Andrea Gail! (Yes, I watched Clooney and Wahlberg on AMC two nights ago in The Perfect Storm).