The Memphis Grizzlies are paying homage to the city’s rich Hip-Hop roots spanning multiple decades with their new City Edition uniform. In an effort to do things right, the team sought out some direct influence from the genre’s greats: Three Six Mafia’s Juicy J and DJ Paul, Project Pat, and Al Kapone all assisted in helping the ensemble come to life.
The Black jerseys include brown elements to create a chrome effect, diamond texture within the jersey numbers, and Beale Street Blue art framing the team name. “For The M” appears above the jersey tag and the M is in the shape of a grill. The pants feature an M-shaped bridge at the top near the waistline. As for the shorts, there is a bear icon that nods at the franchise’s past branding and current status.
Commercial Appeal reports that the design process took almost three years and 20 different versions. The Grizzlies also contacted NLE Choppa for his take on the uniform, along with the Memphis legends mentioned above. These City Edition uniforms will debut on Friday, Nov. 11 during the Grizzlies’ game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This isn’t the Grizzlies’ first collaboration with Choppa either, as the “Walk Em Down” artist accompanied the Memphis roster as they exited the locker room during their home season opener on Oct. 20. The team is currently 8-4, sitting at fifth in the Western Conference and anchored by their star point guard Ja Morant who is averaging 28.8 points per game and 6.9 assists.