what do the patches look like on the jerseys?

How far gone is the time when the “flawless” side of NBA jerseys was the pride of the league and its fans. After that OEM logospatches “sponsors“They gradually appeared on the jerseys of all teams. A new step in this direction will be made during the 2025-2026 season, and the goal is not only financial.

The NBA has indeed announced that all the players who received individual recognition last season will wear “flash” in this honoronly for the first match of the season. For example, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (MVP), Evan Mobley (defensive player of the year) and Stephon Castle (rookie of the year) will therefore have an additional “patch” on their jerseys, which appears above the Nike logo. This the initiative is different from the one launched by Topps and Fanaticsspecified by the NBA.

These new badges apply to 35 players, as all members of the All-NBA, All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams will be awarded in addition to the classic trophies. We can also name Jalen Brunson (Clutch Player of the Year), Stephen Curry (Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year) and Jrue Holiday (Sportsmanship Award) who will be affected. Even Kenny Atkinson (Coach of the Year) and Sam Presti (Manager of the Year) will wear the award on their jackets.

Patch in the match

Given that they will only be used once, the jerseys will then be auctioned off through Sotheby’s, and we can imagine (hope?) that some or all of the proceeds will be donated to charity. Each player concerned will receive another jersey with their own patch to keep for themselves.

“We wanted to shed some light on what these trophies are, what they look like and give these players a little moment. Now, do I think they’re all going to get a standing ovation in the first game of the year? Maybe not.”said Christopher Arena, head of on-court partnerships and brands for the NBA. “But they’ll go out on the field that day, they’ll see the trophy badge on their jersey and they’ll remember what they’ve achieved, and maybe that’ll be a source of motivation for that night.”

The league will monitor the aftermath of this operation, hoping that this operation will become a “tradition”, as pointed out by Christopher Arena, “So when a player wins an award, regardless of whether they get the chance to hold the trophy or not, they know they’ll have a badge next season.”