PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers unveiled the team's new Nike NBA City Edition alternate uniform for the 2023-24 season on Wednesday, a uniform that pays tribute to two legendary figures from the Blazers past in Dr. Jack Ramsay and Bill Schonely.
The iconic Blazers catchphrase "Rip City" was coined by Schonely, the legendary voice of the Trail Blazers who died at age 93 last January. Ramsay, the Hall-of-Fame coach who led the Blazers to their only NBA championship in 1977, was as well known for his success as a coach as he was for the iconic 1970's plaid-patterned fashions he wore courtside. Ramsey died in 2014 at age 89.
The base color of the Blazers' new city edition uniform is Portland's primary black team color. "Rip City" is emblazoned across the front of the jersey in red-and-black plaid, outlined in white. Accent wings on the top and back of the shoulders on the jersey and the waistband of the shorts also feature the red-and-black plaid pattern.
Stretching down the sides of the jersey and shorts is a two-toned black plaid pattern. The uniforms contain two more tributes to Ramsay: a replica Dr. Jack tribute patch on the waistband and Ramsay's hand-written signature on the tag. The shorts carry the Blazers' primary pinwheel logo and the numbers on the uniform feature a retro off-white font, outlined in red.
Photos: Blazers city edition uniform
The Blazers' game Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies will be the team's first-ever "Plaid-Out," the team announced. The Blazers encourage fans to wear their best plaid clothing to the game, which will be Portland's first of four games in the play-in round of the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament. The Blazers will have a special court for all four-in-season tournament games. The new court ties in with the new city edition uniforms with a black-toned plaid pattern on one side of the court.
The new city edition uniforms can be purchased at ripcityclothing.com or at the Rip City Clothing store in the Moda Center.
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