Traditional look of uniforms a nod to New Orleans history

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As New Orleans Pelicans logo and uniform designer Rodney Richardson puts it, the city of New Orleans is frequently depicted nationally as “an over-the-top caricature.” That often results from TV coverage that broadcasts snippets of Mardi Gras for example, which publicize some of the more childish aspects of the annual celebration.

When Richardson envisioned what he wanted the uniforms for the New Orleans Pelicans to look like, he hoped to move far away from the Crescent City’s cartoonish portrayals. The result is a classic, clean-looking pair of navy blue and white uniforms, which were unveiled for the first time Thursday afternoon inside the team’s soon-to-be-completed practice facility. Pelicans players Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and Jason Smith showed off the new gear.

The uniforms represent the first stage of a process that will continue in 2014-15 when the Pelicans unveil a third, alternate uniform. The following season, 2015-16, New Orleans will introduce a special fourth uniform.

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“Anyone from New Orleans knows that there is a sensitivity here to the caricature that so many people outside the city have about the city and its people,” said Richardson, a Mississippi native and resident. “The team’s identity needed to represent the people who are from here and live here, not only in the city but the entire Gulf South. We wanted to make sure that it didn’t come off as this over-the-top caricature. It needed to represent the true nature, simplicity, beauty and richness here.”

Particularly during the 1990s, some NBA teams began moving away from traditional-looking basketball uniforms, instead preferring to use oversized graphics (see Toronto Raptors 1995-99, Houston Rockets 1995-2003). Virtually every attempt was unpopular long-term with fans, causing those same clubs to eventually return to uniforms that fit more of a classic profile.

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