It appears the Blazers alternate has been leaked from the video game NBA 2K.
Conrad Burry of SportsLogos.Net did some sleuthing to uncover the new Blazers alternate — among all other NBA teams — on Wednesday.
Here’s what Portland’s “Statement” jersey looks like:
Apparently, a user by the name of @JMoneyMikita got his hands on an advanced copy of the upcoming video game NBA 2K18.
The game comes equipped with the new Nike alternates for all NBA teams. And the user supplied screenshots of all 30 teams for Burry to unveil.
Originally to have the title “Athlete’s Mindset”, Burry points out they go by “Statement” now.
The jersey picture is very blurry, so any judgments can’t be made fully until its real reveal. But, it still gives us a rough idea of what the jersey will look like.
The Blazers usually have a red alternate in rotation, so this goes with the flow. It is more of departure from the past, however.
We now have an all-gray (and dark gray at that) sash that runs across the usual sash design. The numbers also appear to be gray, although they may be black in a clearer picture.
This gray also outlines the jersey about an inch or so off of the jersey’s cut.
We had a leak last time that led the Blazers to reveal their new logo. This seems like a similar situation.
None of the teams have confirmed these are in fact their alternates, so we await the official word.
Initially, I’m in favor of them. It’s a different take on the red alternates, and sometimes change is good.
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Portland’s two main jerseys came out earlier this summer with minimal changes. As we thought, the alternate provides more change.
There’s also another alternate to still look for. The “Community” jerseys release later this season.
Most likely, this is going to be some rendition of the Rip City jerseys we all know and love (RIP, sleeves).
You can read Burry’s entire piece on the Nike jersey leak here.