As Minnesota Timberwolves fans are aware, the NBA, in accordance with their deal with Nike, releases new jerseys for every team in the association every year. These are the "city edition" uniforms, and they are designed specifically to be representations of the team's city and some unique element of its culture.
Since the introduction of this concept in 2017, we have gotten a fair share of stunning designs along with some more forgettable concepts as well. The reality is that Nike's business model of releasing every single year can oversaturate team brands, and not every product that gets put out is going to feel fresh and new.
This week, the Timberwolves officially unveiled their new city edition uniforms for the 2024-25 season, along with their corresponding city court. According to the team, the new jerseys are designed to be an "encapsulation of Minnesota winters; the uniform evokes images of ice-covered lakes under a moonlit night sky."
The concept for these jerseys had already been leaked, but now we get the official announcement from the team that this is what the city design will officially look like. Upon first glance, many will notice that the uniforms look very similar to last year's city edition.
Minnesota's new city court is designed to have "iced-out" look
The difference is that while the 2023-24 city design was created to evoke Minnesota summers with its cool blue base and watery coloration, the 2024-25 one is emulating the frosty winters of the North Star State. The one commonality? Both jerseys are paying homage to lake life in Minnesota, a fitting theme for "the land of 10,000 lakes."
Speaking of that phrase, it will be displayed along the bottom of the new city edition court, bordered by two north star logos against a black background. Both the lanes and the center court logo are designed to have a "frozen over" look, according to the team.
The Timberwolves will rock their new city edition threads in 23 total games this season, including a surprising 15 times at home. That means that out of 41 home games at Target Center, Minnesota will plan to feature the city edition court and jerseys in over a third of them, a noticeably high percentage.
Overall, it feels likely that Wolves fans will have a strong reaction to this design in one way or another. As previously mentioned, NBA teams probably feel a bit worn thin due to designing new concepts every single year. But as it pertains to the significance of Minnesota lake life, it feels like the team nailed it the last two seasons, even if other past designs were better.