American basketball team the Indiana Pacers have officially unveiled the first phase of a brand refresh, built around a new platform dubbed “We Grow Basketball Here”.

The updated look incorporates newly-designed white and blue uniforms, a new playing court, as well as two new logos – a state icon and seal for basketball in Indiana.

The latter features a basketball rising over a horizon of the dimensional farmland lines found in both the new uniforms and court design, 19 stars representing Indiana as the 19th state, and 1894 for the year when the first game of basketball was played in the state.

The state icon, meanwhile, will serve as a new secondary logo; it was originally seen on the customised IndyCar Larry Bird drove in New York City to deliver the franchise’s bid for the 2021 All-Star Game to the NBA’s league offices and is said to pay homage to the Pacers representing the entire state of Indiana on the basketball court.

Going back to the apparel, Indiana last unveiled new uniforms in September 2005 and has sported the same design for the past 12 seasons.

One of the key elements of the new uniforms is the lettering encircling the number on the front of each jersey spelling out both “Indiana” and “Pacers.” Thanks to a new compact typeface, the Pacers will be the only NBA team to have their full team name featured on their uniforms with the number centred between the two names.

“We wanted to have a traditional uniform, but with a much more modern look,” says Todd Taylor, the team’s marketing boss. “So as we started research, the (Fort Wayne) Zollner Pistons was a uniform that we looked at from a long time ago that had a name identifier and team identifier on the front.

“We thought it would be interesting to try to incorporate both Indiana and Pacers to reinforce that we are a team of the state and not just Indianapolis.”

The Pacers say they shared their initial concepts with Nike, who replaced Adidas this summer as the official manufacturer of NBA uniforms, which modified the design to come up with a ‘modern traditional’ look.

“They were really excited about putting both the state and the team name on the front and just the unique factor of the design,” explains Taylor. “I think they did a great job of keeping a traditional look, while adding enhancements, like the side panel design, to create a nice balance.”

One change the NBA is implementing league-wide is the abolishment of designated “Home” and “Road” uniforms. Instead, the new white Pacers uniform will be termed Indiana’s “Association Edition”, while the blue uniform is the franchise’s “Icon Edition”.

For the 2017-18 season, home teams will be allowed to choose which uniform they want to wear for each particular game on their schedule. Visiting teams can then choose any uniform that contrasts with the home team’s selection.

Source: Indiana Pacers