Nike has taken over as the official apparel partner of the NBA. That means the swoosh will be on all jerseys, sweats, t-shirts, etc. The multibillion dollar company has always been an innovator in the world of sporting apparel and today at the NBA Store in NYC, they debuted the new “connected jerseys.”
NIKECONNECT uses a chip in the bottom of the official jerseys and fans can activate it with an app on their smartphones to access exclusive content about their favorite athlete and team. This is Nike and the NBA’s foray into engaging the new fan that engages in sports from digital platforms.
Nike has also done away with the traditional “home” and “road” jerseys. At today’s event we saw the “Association Edition” the “Icon Edition” and “Swingman” jerseys. The “Association” will replace the home jersey and “Icon” will be the road uniform.
The Nike/NBA partnership is a good one. The NBA has long been the most forward thinking of the professional leagues. Adam Silver and his executives recognize the opportunity to utilize digital platforms and technology to engage fans. You have a whole generation of fans that grew up in the digital age, they are used to watching games with multiple screens, social media feeds and different steams of information. This is the next evolution in sports fandom.
Flip the page to see photos from today’s event.